Third guilty plea to manslaughter in La Ronge, Sask. restaurant attack

A boy who was 17 when he participated in a fatal assault on a northern Saskatchewan restaurant owner is facing the possibility of an adult sentence after pleading guilty to a charge of manslaughter.

The teen, whose name can’t be published under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was one of four people arrested after last year’s death of Simon Grant in La Ronge.

The young accused had been charged with second-degree murder but pleaded guilty Monday in La Ronge provincial court to the lesser count, as well as to charges of committing a robbery and wearing a mask to commit an indictable offence.

Prosecutor Ruth Fafard told Judge Rob MacKenzie that the Crown will argue for adult punishment, but she also requested psychiatric, psychological and pre-sentence reports before the case returns to court on March 8.

In December, a 14-year-old boy charged with second-degree murder in the attack also pleaded guilty to manslaughter and will return to court next month for a sentencing hearing.

Austin Bird, 19, pleaded guilty to manslaughter last October and was given a seven-year prison sentence, while a charge of accessory after the fact against the fourth suspect – an 18-year-old man – was stayed in November.

Grant, 64, was attacked at his Louisiana’s Bar-B-Que restaurant in April and died in hospital two days later.

After entering his plea, the 17-year-old boy did not apologize for his actions during the holdup.

“That just sort of speaks volumes to the type of individual we’re dealing with … and maybe the level of remorse,” said Grant’s wife, Cora Laich, outside the courthouse.

She noted both Bird and the 14-year-old said they were sorry when they entered their pleas.

Laich also said her family is “OK” with the strategy the Crown used in pursuing manslaughter pleas.

“The charge doesn’t mean as much as the sentencing. That’s what’s important is what sentence this young man will get.”