Man sentenced to 5 years in prison for deadly hit and run in Spruce Grove

A man convicted in a fatal hit and run in Spruce Grove, Alta., two years ago was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison on Monday.

Cody Marcel Young was sentenced for the Sept. 24, 2021 hit and run that left 25-year-old Jordan Hamelin dead.

On June 23, Young pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death, theft of a motor vehicle and driving while prohibited.

On the day Hamelin was killed, his mother had her SUV stolen and he went out to look for it.

Witnesses said Hamelin found the SUV and approached it but was injured when the vehicle sped away. He later died in hospital.

Young was arrested within hours of the incident and charged.

The Crown had sought a total sentence of seven to eight years in prison while Young’s defence lawyer had asked for a four- or five-year sentence.

Justice Susan Richardson handed out the sentence on Monday morning. Gladue factors were taken into consideration for sentencing while Young’s criminal record prior to the 2021 hit and run was considered an aggravating factor.

Gladue refers to a 1999 Supreme Court of Canada case that says judges can consider an Indigenous offender’s background in sentencing.

Young had been convicted of stealing a motor vehicle five times prior to the 2021 theft and he had three prior convictions for driving while prohibited.

At the hearing, court heard that Young has a serious drug addiction.

Of the five-year-eight-month sentence, five years was handed out for dangerous driving causing death, 18 months — to be served concurrently with the other sentence — was for theft of a motor vehicle and eight months — to be served as a consecutive sentence — was for driving while prohibited.

Young will receive 1,182 days credit for time already served. He has been in custody since Sept 24, 2021.

As part of his sentence, Young has also been handed an eight-year ban on driving a vehicle. He has also been ordered not to contact Hamelin’s loved ones.

At a sentencing hearing in October, lawyers on both sides agreed that Young has exhibited some level of remorse and noted he pleaded guilty to the crime and co-operated with police after he was arrested.

At the Oct. 3 sentencing hearing, the victim’s mother, Sonia Hamelin, was among his loved ones who read a victim impact statement

“You took away my heart and soul, everything,” she said at the time. “It’s a dark, lonely life that I live now.

“The pain never stops.”

As she read out her sentence, Richardson spoke about Hamelin, noting he is remembered as a kind-hearted man who was working to start his own business at the time he was killed.

“He was killed while trying to selflessly help his mother,” the judge said.

“It’s an indication of the man he was and the magnitude of the loss to his family.”

–with files from Sarah Ryan, Global News