It has been more than five years since bullets pierced the garage door of a southeast Calgary home, hitting and killing Amy Sands.
On Aug. 31, 2012, the 27-year-old was at a house party on Dover Meadow Close when she was struck by a bullet meant for another man.
Police said she was an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire of a heated war of words between two men.
They had been arguing and one of them left. Jesse George Hill came back with someone else, who fired the fatal shot that was meant for the other man in the argument.
Hill eventually pleaded guilty to manslaughter and in November 2014, was sentenced to eight years behind bars. With credit for time served, he had four years and nine months remaining.
At his sentencing, the judge hoped Hill would let the pain and suffering felt by family and friends sink in and that he would remind himself about what happened “for every waking moment of the rest of your life.”
Sands’ father, Ed, didn’t mince words when speaking with reporters after the sentencing.
“Four years and nine months for taking a life,” he said. “It’s not justice.”
His statutory release date was Jan. 2.
In a review prior to his release, the Parole Board of Canada outlined several concerns about Hill, including his attitude about what happened.
“You continue to minimize your involvement in the death of the victim,” the board wrote in a decision obtained by Global News. “File information indicates that although you know who the shooter is, you refused to identify who pulled the trigger.”
“It remains a concern that you are reluctant to identify the shooter,” the board continued. “This attitude demonstrates criminal entrenchment.”
Calgary Police confirm the file remains open and they will continue to search for the person responsible for shooting Sands.
According to the board, Hill’s institutional behaviour “has not been without concern.” That includes four institutional charges, with one situation leading to Hill being found with a “stabbing weapon” in his cell.
The board also heard from Hill, who said he wants to change his behaviour for his family.
“You speak about your daughter and how she needs a good role model and a father in her life,” the decision read. “You explain that you want to put the past behind you and work hard.”
Hill finished high school while incarcerated and hopes to get into the trades.
During the review, the board set several conditions he will have to live under.
Many of the conditions are standard: such as avoiding alcohol and drugs, not speaking with the victim’s family or gang members and following treatment plans and going to counselling.
He will also have to provide financial disclosure to his parole officers.
“You chose to give up legitimate work for a criminal lifestyle that you admit to enjoying because you made up to $7,000 per month trafficking illicit drugs,” the board’s decision read. “In order to monitor your finances, your supervisor will have access to your financial records on request.”
The conditions will remain in effect until his sentence officially ends in August 2019.
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