A man found guilty of manslaughter in the 2017 death of a man northeast of Edmonton has received a five-year sentence.
Raymond Nickerson was on trial for two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of 39-year-old Terry Sutton and 40-year-old Jason Williams.
The men, who were neighbours of Nickerson, were found fatally shot – one in the head, the other in the abdomen – in the village of Chipman, Alta., on April 2, 2017.
In January of this year, a jury found Nickerson not guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Sutton. Nickerson was found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter in the death of Williams.
The Crown told the jury the crime occurred after a dispute about fireworks the victims launched for Sutton’s wife’s birthday. At the beginning of the trial, Justice Eric Macklin said the defence would argue that Nickerson acted in self defence.
Nickerson received credit of 154 days for time served. He also received a 10-year ban on owning firearms.
Chipman is located about 70 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.