‘Remorseful’ witness handed jail time for accessory charge in 2016 murder
REGINA Her testimony having played a role in the convictions of two people responsible for the murder of 31-year-old Ryan Daniel Sugar, Jessica Pangman accepted a deal that means she will not serve federal time for her role in the incident.
Pangman nevertheless sobbed while embracing her young daughter on Thursday, having received a jail sentence for being an accessory after the fact to murder.
The 29-year-old pleaded guilty to that charge and three breaches during the court appearance, and received the equivalent of three years in prison.
With remand time factored in, she was left with 11 months to serve.
Almost exactly one month ago, Gregory James Wolfe and Pangman’s aunt, Colinda Lee Hotomani, received life sentences, having been found guilty of firstdegree and second-degree murder respectively. Hotomani has filed an appeal.
Among testimony heard at trial was that from Pangman, the only other person present at 1555 Mctavish St. when Sugar was assaulted and left for dead in a smokefilled house.
“Her testimony has certainly been taken into account by the Crown in the pleas and resolution being recommended to the court today …” Crown prosecutor Adam Breker told Regina provincial court Judge Murray Hinds on Thursday.
“Her testimony was an important aspect of the case in terms of uncovering the truth about what happened that night.”
Pangman told the court alcohol and drugs were being consumed on the night of Oct. 4-5, 2016, and that she and Hotomani came to believe Sugar had sexually assaulted them while they were passed out. While Pangman said she’s since realized that hadn’t happened, their mistaken impression formed the motive for the crime that followed.
Pangman said both Wolfe and Hotomani assaulted Sugar, and that Wolfe slashed the other man with a bladed weapon provided by Hotomani. Once Sugar had been backed into the bathroom, Wolfe and Hotomani lit a fire outside the door to the room, Pangman said.
Court heard Wolfe then dragged over a large television to block Sugar inside.
With Sugar calling out to Pangman — a longtime friend — for help, she, Wolfe and Hotomani left the house.
Breker told the court the accessory charge has to do with steps Pangman took afterward to help the other two avoid detection. She was party to a plan by Wolfe to throw away the house key to help bolster a break-in story; she asked an acquaintance to provide an alibi; with Hotomani, she threw away the bladed weapon used in the assault; and she suggested to fire investigators the house had a faulty electrical system while avoiding sharing information that would have led to the discovery of Sugar’s body inside the burned-out house.
Breker noted initial on-scene checks by fire crews attending to the house fire didn’t locate Sugar, and that the house was deemed too unsafe immediately afterward to conduct a full search.
Sugar’s body wasn’t found until Oct. 11, 2016, after police received information the missing man was believed to have been at the house prior to the fire.
Defence lawyer Tyne Hagey said her client was struggling with substance-abuse issues at the time, including a meth addiction. She said Pangman has been working to confront her problems, taking all programs available to her while on remand.
Hagey added her client is “incredibly remorseful … for both the actions she took and the inaction that day.”
In sentencing Pangman, Hinds pointed out she could have made the tragic situation a little easier on Sugar’s family by seeing to it his body was discovered sooner rather than allowing their search to continue without answers.
“I really sincerely hope you’ve reflected on your actions and inactions,” he told Pangman, adding he was pleased she finally came forward to provide the truth about that night’s events.