Drug trafficker gets 12 years in prison for role in botched hit in Langley that killed bystander

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has sentenced a drug trafficker to almost 12 years in prison for his role in a targeted shooting three years ago that left a bystander dead.

Justice Martha Devlin said David Tull, 37, was a key member of the conspiracy to murder Kyle Gianis — his former associate in the drug world who was marked for death after double-crossing Tull.

While Gianis survived the June 9, 2017 shooting outside a Langley restaurant, Gianis' friend, Tyler Pastuck, died when he was hit by a single bullet.

Devlin said she was “mindful of the devastating impact the tragic death of Tyler Pastuck has had on his family.”

“He was a cherished family member, a beloved son, father, brother and friend. I'm also mindful that no sentence I impose today could possibly remedy the pain and suffering they have and will continue to endure.”

In September, Tull pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder Gianis. A first-degree murder charge in Pastuck's death was stayed Thursday at the end of his sentencing hearing.

Devlin said Tull “was part of the agreement to kill Mr. Gianis from the moment of inception of the diabolical plan.”

“He was one of the architects. He was an active participant in it with respect to the June 9, 2017 incident,” she said as relatives of both Tull and Pastuck listened from the public gallery.

While Tull was not present at Brown's Social House when two masked gunmen jumped out of a car and began firing just before midnight, he had been receiving information about Gianis's movements that were relayed to the hitmen, Devlin noted.

“This was a sophisticated and sustained operation in which an open contract had been taken and hitmen were recruited to carry out the murder of Mr. Gianis,” Devlin said. “Communication among the group was over encrypted phone devices, which would assist in insulating them.”

Another participant in the plot, who can be identified only as Person Y, earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy and began co-operating with police. He was at the restaurant with Gianis and Pastuck at the time of the shooting, and told Tull that he was worried he might get shot.

Devlin said that while “Tull did not pull the trigger, he was ultimately responsible for what unfolded, as he was part of the group that hatched the plan to have Mr. Gianis killed.”

She accepted Tull was remorseful and noted that he apologized to the Pastuck family during his sentencing hearing earlier this week, as well as to Gianis, the restaurant workers who were endangered that night and to his own family.

Tull's young daughters sat in the courtroom Thursday waiting for him to be brought out by a sheriff. They then waved and he blew them kisses as tears streamed down his face. The children stayed outside in the hallway once Devlin began reading her reasons for judgment.

The Crown's Dianne Wiedemann had argued that a 16-year prison term would be appropriate, given Tull's role in the conspiracy and the fact he stayed involved for another 14 months after Pastuck was killed.

Tull's defence lawyer, Joven Narwal, said in his submission that an eight-year sentence — the same handed to Person Y after his guilty plea — would be more fitting.

Devlin said a 14-year sentence (minus two years, four months credit for pretrial custody) shows the public “that this type of underworld justice will not be tolerated, and that those who engage in such egregious behaviour will receive severe penalties.”