Man handed six-year sentence in killing triggered by gun sale

When 2021 began, convicted killer Abdullah Mela was a little more than three years into a life sentence without parole for at least nine more for the fatal shooting of a colleague who botched an illegal gun purchase.

On Monday, Mela was told he would only have to serve another 12 months before he'll taste full freedom.

Justice Jeffrey Jones handed Mela a six-year prison term for manslaughter in the April 6, 2016, shooting of Harsimran Birdi.

But with credit for so-called dead time since Mela's arrest in December 2017, the Calgary man will get credit for five years of time already served, Jones said.

Jones had convicted Mela of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Birdi, finding the offender shot his victim because he was angry over him messing up a gun purchase which left the killer out $2,500.

But earlier this year the Alberta Court of Appeal overturned that ruling, finding an intentional killing wasn't the only inference Jones could have drawn from the fact Mela shot Birdi while parked in an alley looking for the gun trafficker who swindled him.

The province's top court substituted a conviction for manslaughter and sent the case back to the Court of Queen's Bench judge to sentence him once more.

Jones said the sentencing range provided by defence lawyer Richard Cairns of five to seven years was appropriate.

Cairns had earlier said a punishment in the middle of that range, six years, would be justified for Mela's conduct.

Crown prosecutor Tiffany Dwyer had proposed a sentence in the eight- to 10-year range.

Jones said that based on the fact the Court of Appeal found that the Crown's chief witness, who said Mela pointed the gun at Birdi before firing, was questionable, the killing must have been the result of a careless handling of a firearm.

But he said even though that meant Mela didn't intentionally pull the trigger, there were still aggravating factors that justified an increase from the mandatory minimum of four years for manslaughter with a firearm.

“Mr. Mela should have known and did know that careless handling of the firearm would endanger Mr. Birdi and the others in the Pathfinder,” Jones said.

“He was exposing Mr. Birdi to the risk of life-threatening injury.”

Jones agreed it was an aggravating fact that Mela dragged Birdi from the SUV after shooting him and left him there to die.

The group of five men had gone to the Huntington Hills area to look for the man Birdi had given Mela's $2,500 to supply a handgun.