The Winnipeg teenager who killed a pizza shop employee with an axe during a robbery in 2011 was given the toughest sentence the law allows on Tuesday.
The 17-year-old had already pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the killing of 54-year-old Gerald Crayford at a Pizza Hotline store on Concordia Avenue. A judge had also already decided he would be sentenced as an adult; on Tuesday the teen was given life in prison with no chance of parole for seven years, the maximum delay in parole eligibility for a youth sentenced as an adult.
The teen’s defence lawyer had asked for the minimum five years.
“This young person had a lot of challenges, frankly,” said defence lawyer Brad King, “I’m a little disappointed those didn’t get reflected in the ultimate decision.”
It’s still possible the teen will spend the rest of this life behind bars; there is no guarantee he will be granted parole when he is eligible to apply.
Following the robbery, court heard the teen bragged to friends about killing someone, saying “it felt cool.”
Judge Rocky Pollack denounced the teen Tuesday.
“It sickened me then, it sickens me now when I think of how vicious the violence was and the unfeeling that followed,” he said.
The Crown told court just a few days ago, the teen got into a fight with another inmate inside the Agassi Youth Centre and was heard yelling, “I don’t care if I get another murder charge.”
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Pollack reacted to that by saying, “he knew his behaviour was relevant to his case; he should have realized he was being watched.”
A teen sentenced as an adult can be named, but only after a 30-day appeal period has expired. The defence says it’s “unlikely” they’ll appeal, saying the teen “wants to move on with the process and do what he has to do.”
For the first time, the teen addressed the court.
“I’m sorry. I know my apology won’t bring back their family member, I hope they can forgive me,” he said.
Crayford was a delivery man for Pizza Hotline when he walked in on a robbery in progress inside the Concordia Avenue location on May 15, 2011. Court heard Crayford struggled with the teen and an alleged accomplice; the teen hit Crayford on the head twice with the blunt end of the axe. Crayford died the next day.
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