A man who pleaded guilty to manslaughter for his role in a deadly central Alberta gas and dash in 2017 has received a seven-year sentence.
Mitchell Robert Sydlowski, 29, pleaded guilty in August to manslaughter and failing to stop at the scene of an accident causing death. The guilty pleas were in connection to the October 2017 gas and dash in Thorsby, Alta., that left Fas Gas Station owner Ki Yun Jo dead.
In court Friday, Sydlowski was sentenced to seven years behind bars for the crime. With credit for time served, he has just shy of four years remaining on his sentence.
Sydlowski, of Spruce Grove, was initially charged with second-degree murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge.
According to an agreed statement of facts, Sydlowski stole a cube van from Middleton Flooring, a business in Spruce Grove, on Oct. 6, 2017. He drove to the Thorsby Fas Gas, filled the van with $198 worth of gas and made no attempt to pay.
Jo, who was 54, went out to confront him, court documents read. He grabbed the passenger side mirror of the van and hung on.
The agreed statement of facts detailed that Sydlowski drove off, swerving from left to right, and Jo eventually separated from the van and was run over by the rear tires. Sydlowski, who acknowledged he knew the victim was hanging on to the side of the vehicle, then drove off.
The van was later found between Calmar and Thorsby.
First responders attempted first aid but couldn’t revive Jo. The autopsy found numerous scrapes to Jo’s body as well as lethal blunt force trauma, skull and facial fractures, internal trauma to his trunk and a broken neck.
Soon after the deadly gas and dash, the province passed pay-before-you-pump legislation, which requires drivers to pay before filling up at gas stations and makes violence-prevention plans mandatory at retail fuel and convenience stores.
“No sentence that I impose will alleviate the pain and suffering by all affected,” Justice John Hopkins said Friday. “If anything positive can be found in this tragedy, it may be that there was a change in legislation.”
The Crown was seeking a total sentence of six to eight years, while the defence was seeking six years.
Thorsby is a town located about 50 kilometres southwest of Edmonton.
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