Elijah Noname sat expressionless as a judge handed him a 12-year prison sentence for the shooting death of 18-year-old Nolen Tanner at a Halloween party in 2013.
Noname was initially charged with second degree murder, but in January a judge found him guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter.
The 12-year sentence includes credit for time served, meaning the 25-year-old will spend seven years in prison.
During the trial, court heard that Noname shot Tanner six times.
Criminal Defence Lawyer Noah Evanchuk argued his client’s actions were reasonable, as Tanner stabbed Noname in the lower back.
At Thursday’s sentencing hearing, Lana Sheepskin, the mother of the victim’s girlfriend, gave the only victim impact statement.
Through tears, she told court Tanner was a new father to a three-week-old son at the time of his death and described him as a caring person.
“The last three years we’ve all had to mourn his loss. I’m not his mom, but I can’t imagine the pain, because mine is unbearable,” she said.
“We all see so much of him in his baby boy, who is now three. He was only one when they put his headstone on his grave and my grandson just walked up to it and kissed it as if that’s where he knew his dad was.”
“Having to listen to the trial and what everyone had to say was like a knife in the heart,” she added.
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Noname also spoke during the sentencing, he told the court that he was sorry for his actions, and he understands a jail sentence won’t be enough to ease the family’s pain.
The 12-year sentence was a joint recommendation between the Crown and the defence.
“All things being considered and the case law in terms of homicides involving restricted and prohibited firearms, we thought this was within range and appropriate in the circumstances,” Criminal Defence Lawyer Noah Evanchuk said.
Senior Crown Prosecutor Kim Jones says there are too many crimes involving guns in Regina.
“I know the family feels very strongly about (this message), that offences of this nature won’t be tolerated. There’s far too many crimes involving firearms in Regina and in Saskatchewan these days,” Jones said.
“I think the driving force behind my deciding to accept the joint submission was the firearms element of the case… Bringing a sawed-off shotgun to a party is just going to be a disaster and it turned out to be very tragic for everybody.”
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