Drug dealer gets 8-year sentence for killing customer

Guilty plea to manslaughter followed attack on disabled man lying on couch

A drug dealer who shot and killed a customer lying in the fetal position on his couch has been handed an eight-year jail term.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Barbara Norell said the attack happened on April 1, 2022 in the Surrey home of drug-dependent Christopher Hartl and his girlfriend.

Court heard that 42-year-old Darren Ellis Scott and his brother arrived at the home just after midnight and stayed the night after consuming drugs. Scott dealt drugs to Hartl.

According to the ruling, 48-yearold Hartl lived in the apartment with his girlfriend.

Hartl was “a slight man who suffered from a disability such that he needed to use mobility aids to walk any significant distance.”

Norell wrote that Scott woke up in a bad mood and began harassing Hartl for money.

“Mr. Scott sought to collect a debt from Mr. Hartl, who told him that he could not pay the debt right away, but he was doing his best and had paid Mr. Scott some money the night before,” Norell wrote.

“Mr. Scott became more upset. Mr. Hartl's girlfriend offered to pay the debt, but Mr. Scott rebuffed her.

“In the early afternoon, as Mr. Hartl was seated in the living room on the couch without any weapons, Mr. Scott said he was going to shoot Mr. Hartl in the leg to teach him a lesson. Mr. Scott went into the kitchen where his bag of guns was stored, retrieved a gun, and returned to the living room. He ordered Mr. Hartl's girlfriend out of the living room but she refused. She implored him not to shoot the gun.

“Mr. Hartl moved into the fetal position on the couch when he saw Mr. Scott with a gun. Mr. Scott shot Mr. Hartl once in the chest as Mr. Hartl sat defenceless on the couch. This took place in front of several other people who were present in the living room.”

Scott fled and dumped the guns, which were never found. He was arrested that day and later charged with second-degree murder. On Feb. 1, 2024, Scott pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Norell said that Hartl had not provoked Scott and was essentially defenceless when he was attacked.

The crime had a profound impact on Mr. Hartl's family and friends. His family has been left devastated and their lives forever changed.

Scott had convictions for violent offences, as well as offences involving firearms. He also killed Hartl while under a lifetime firearms prohibition.

Norell said that the Crown and the defence believed an eight-year sentence was appropriate and she agreed.

At sentencing, Scott had already served 747 days in custody since his arrest and so was credited with having already served 1,121 days (one and a half days for every day served before sentence).

This means that, effectively, the sentence is for just under five years. Scott will be eligible for parole in 2026.