Joshua Petrin sentenced in 2012 killing of Alberta man

Joshua Petrin, who is currently appealing his Saskatoon first-degree murder conviction, was sentenced on Oct. 30 in a 2012 Alberta killing.

Petrin, 34, was sentenced to a total of 20 years in prison for the 2008 shooting death of Mitchell Chambers and the 2012 death of Bryan Gower, who were both from Alberta.

Chambers, 23, was shot in the head while sitting in his truck.

Petrin pleaded guilty to manslaughter on March 10, 2017 in Chambers’ death and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, concurrent to all other sentences he was serving at the time.

At the time of his sentencing in Chambers’ death, Petrin was awaiting sentencing in Gower’s death.

Petrin had been found guilty in November 2016 of manslaughter in Gower’s death after initially being charged with first-degree murder.

Gower was found dead on a rural road near Kitscoty, Alta., on Sept. 25, 2012.

A joint submission was made to the judge in the Gower killing, suggesting Petrin serve 10 years concurrently with his sentencing in the Chambers’ manslaughter conviction.

Judge M. David Gates rejected the submission and instead sentenced Petrin to 10 years in prison consecutive to manslaughter conviction in Chambers’ death, and consecutive to his Saskatchewan convictions.

“I am satisfied that the imposition of a concurrent sentence of 10 years relative to the death of Bryan Gower would bring the administration of justice into disrepute,” Gates wrote in his Oct. 30 judgment.

“I am not persuaded that consecutive sentences of 10 years for two separate manslaughter conviction is unduly long or harsh given the circumstances of the offences and the circumstances of this offender.”

Petrin was found guilty in November 2016 of first-degree murder of Saskatoon mother Lorry Santos and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole until 2037.

Santos, a mother of four, was shot dead in her home on the morning of Sept. 12, 2012.

Petrin was also convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to 12 years concurrent to his life sentence.

He also pleaded guilty this past January to escaping from Saskatoon Correctional Centre while awaiting his first-degree murder trial in the Santos killing and was sentenced to 23 months concurrent to his previous sentences.

Petrin is appealing his first-degree murder sentence on the grounds the verdict was unreasonable based on the evidence and suggested the judge failed to permit detailed questioning on the financial benefits some Crown witnesses received.

The appeal was filed two months after his conviction.

Legal analysts said even if Petrin is successful with his appeal, he will still spend over 22 years at an institution in Edmonton.

A date for Petrin’s appeal to be heard has not been set.