‘It won’t bring her back’
HIT AND RUN: Longtime gangster sentenced 41/2 years for killing Emily Sheane
Judy Sheane choked back tears Wednesday as she told reporters the jail sentence handed to the man who killed her daughter Emily won’t bring the popular young woman back to her grieving family.
“I’m glad it’s all over. She was a very special girl. We still miss her a lot,” Sheane said outside Vancouver Provincial Court. “I am glad we got some justice, but it won’t bring her back.”
Minutes earlier, longtime United Nations gangster Ibrahim Ali was sentenced to 41/2 years in jail for the fatal hit and run that killed Emily last March in Burnaby.
Ali, 26, earlier pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and failure to stop at an accident.
Judge Harbans Dhillon said Ali’s reckless conduct in speeding through a red light March 9, then absconding afterward, warranted a severe sentence.
“He took a very dangerous risk in the manner of his driving that placed other motorists and particularly Ms. Sheane in harm’s way,” Dhillon said.
At the time of the late-night crash at Willingdon and Moscrop, Ali had no licence, had written a fraudulent cheque for the Range Rover he was driving and was violating a bail curfew, Dhillon noted.
She dismissed his claim that he fled only because he was panicked and did not know Sheane was hurt, let alone dead.
Ali checked into a motel that night with his companion, called a friend for a new car, arranged for stolen plates, then drove to Creston, where he was arrested days later.
“I do not accept that this collection of behaviours indicates simply a panicked response to a horrific event,” Dhillon said. “These behaviours were designed to avoid detection and to evade responsibility for the unlawful conduct.”
Ali made a tearful apology to Sheane’s family from the prisoners’ box Wednesday where he sat with his head down throughout his lawyer Scott Wright’s submissions on his behalf.
Wright argued for a three-year sentence for Ali, given he had pleaded guilty, was remorseful and young enough to be rehabilitated. When the sentencing hearing began last month, Crown Jonas Dow said an appropriate sentence would be in the range of four to 41/2 years.
Judy Sheane said she wasn’t sure whether she believed Ali’s remorse.
“He never showed remorse before and all of a sudden he does. But we will see. How he continues his life will determine whether he means it or not,” she said.
She said her daughter and Ali both graduated the same year from Burnaby South Secondary, although she doesn’t believe they knew each other.
Emily was spirited, generous, kind and adventurous and went on to earn a graphic design degree from BCIT and travel the world. Ali was involved in a life of crime while still a teen and went on to amass 20 convictions over five years.
“Emily Sheane did more than touch the lives of those who gravitated to her. According to those who knew her well, she made a difference. She consoled. She shared. She laughed. She encouraged the best in each,” Dhillon said.
“I recognize that no sentence available under the law can adequately compensate for the loss suffered by the Sheane family or come close to assuaging the emotional pains or ever fill the void left in their lives.”
Dhillon gave Ali 31/2 months pre-trial credit off his sentence and imposed a 10-year driving prohibition.