Jeremiah Ranger’s mother walked out of a Toronto courtroom angry after the man who admitted to killing her 15-year-old son during a drug deal, in which an imitation firearm was produced, was sentenced to five years in prison.
Krystal Ranger feels the justice system failed her and believes Seymour Young and his two co-accused should have gone to trial, where a jury could have decided their fate.
Instead, last October, the crown accepted Young’s guilty plea to manslaughter while using a firearm.
He was originally charged with second-degree murder. Charges against his two co-accused have now been withdrawn.
It was on April 26, 2020, when officers were called to a Toronto Community Housing Complex on Sheppard Avenue near Jane Street for a shooting.
According to an agreed statement of facts, 15-year-old Jeremiah Ranger who lived in the housing complex with his mother and four siblings arranged a drug deal with Young using an anonymous Instagram account. The two did not know one another.
When Young arrived to deliver marijuana to the teen, rather than walking up to the open passenger side window where Young thought they were going to conduct the transaction, Ranger and a friend quickly approached the vehicle and jumped into the back seat of the white SUV.
“Once inside, Mr. Ranger produced what appeared to be an imitation firearm and made it clear his intention was to rob the occupants of the vehicle,” wrote Forestell.
Tyler Young, Seymour’s brother, was in the driver’s seat. Hannah Gaudet, Seymour’s girlfriend was in the back.
Court heard Young pulled out his own firearm, aimed low and hit Ranger in the buttocks.
Ranger and his friend exited the vehicle and video, which was released by Toronto police just after the shooting, showed Ranger stumbling before leaving the camera frame.
According to the statement of facts, Ranger dropped the imitation firearm and collapsed behind a dumpster after the wound to his left buttock severed an artery.
The friend returned and retrieved the replica handgun and hid it about 500 metres away. Ranger died from his injuries.
Days later, 23-year-old Seymour Young, 22-year-old Tyler Young and 20-year-old Hannah Gaudet were arrested and charged with second-degree murder.
In handing down her sentence, Madam Justice Maureen Forestell said the parties agreed that there was no intention to kill, and said the case amounts to manslaughter. “The sentence imposed is not a reflection of the value of Jeremiah’s life because no sentence could adequately convey the incalculable worth of the life and future of this child.”
The Crown had asked for an eight-year penitentiary sentence while the defence argued a five-year sentence would be more appropriate.
Seymour Young was born and raised in Brampton until age eight. “His childhood marked by violence,” wrote Forestell, referencing the fact his father was physically abusive to both him and his brother. “The Children’s Aid Society was involved with the family after teachers reported the injuries inflicted on Mr. Young and his brother.”
Seymour Young quit high school after jumping between his mother and father’s house. His father kicked him out of the house when he was 16 years old.
He began working with an uncle as a roofer and at 21, moved in with his partner Gaudet, until they both lost their jobs when the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020.
“Mr. Young began selling marihuana to pay the rent. He reported that he had been selling marihuana for about two weeks before this offence and had bought a gun one week before the offence,” said Forestell.
The judge said the aggravating circumstances were that Young possessed a loaded firearm and took the gun to a drug deal in a public place. A further aggravating factor is that the victim was only a child.
The mitigating factors were that Young pleaded guilty at an early opportunity. The case against him was not overwhelming. There were arguable defences.
“If the case had gone to trial with three accused and issues such as self-defence, the trial would have consumed considerable court resources at a time when courts are facing unprecedented backlogs because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Forestell who noted that Young is also a first-time offender whose guilty plea shows genuine remorse.
The mandatory minimum for manslaughter while using a firearm is four years in prison.
After enhanced credit from time served, Seymour Young has 27 months left to serve. He is also prohibited from possessing weapons for life and he must submit his DNA to the DNA databank.
A lawyer representing Jeremiah Ranger’s family told Global News outside court that the family is angry the Crown agreed to a plea of manslaughter rather than allowing Seymour Young to go to trial his co-accused for Second Degree Murder.
“They feel that this was handled poorly, that the crown should have let a jury decide if self-defence was worthy of an acquittal,” said Margaret Odaset.
“Jeremiah was shot from behind so from the family’s perspective, looking at the facts as it unfolded. Jeremiah was exiting the vehicle and was shot in the buttock. He was retreating,” Odaset explained. “He (Young) brought a loaded firearm to a marijuana deal and when the child was escaping he shot from behind.”
Odaset said the family acknowledges that Jeremiah was raised in what colloquially we would call ‘The Hood’ so he was unfortunately exposed to crime in the community. It’s a very sad story. When the mother was pregnant with the child, the father was shot.”
Seymour Young’s lawyer Craig Bottomley said that his client is remorseful as expressed through his guilty plea and said it could have gone to trial.
“There was a very legitimate self-defence trial and if it had gone to trial my client may very well have been acquitted and would have walked out of court a free man. I advised him of that and he wanted to express his remorse, which is what he did. He genuinely feels bad that this kid is dead.”