A B.C. man will spend just over three years in prison for a fatal stabbing in Surrey in 2019.
Jordan Bottomley was originally charged with first-degree murder for stabbing Andrew Baldwin to death, but later pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
In reasons for sentencing, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Martha Devlin found that the two men were former roommates and associates in the drug trafficking world, and that Baldwin had been killed over a drug debt to a man higher up in their organization.
According to the ruling, Baldwin was staying at a friend’s home in Whalley at the time of the killing, and believed “someone was after him.” Three weeks earlier, his brother, 27-year-old Keith Matthew Baldwin, had been fatally shot in Chilliwack.
On the day of the killing, Bottomley arranged to be picked up and dropped off outside Baldwin’s friend’s home. CCTV footage revealed he entered the property for about a minute and 20 seconds,
Baldwin’s friend testified that an intruder burst in and immediately attacked the victim, striking him multiple times with a stabbing motion. The friend tried to fend the attacker off with a machete, and the attacker deployed bear spray before leaving, the court heard.
An autopsy revealed Baldwin suffered a fatal stab wound to the chest along with nine other sharp force injuries.
Police later recovered a pair of gloves from Bottomley’s home, and found he had injuries consistent with the machete strikes Baldwin’s friend described.
In her decision, Devlin rejected Bottomley’s defence that he had spontaneously decided to stop by the home to see if Baldwin was there. Instead, she found a series phone calls he made prior to and after the incident and the ride he’d procured to the scene indicated the confrontation was premeditated.
“Mr. Bottomley immediately initiated the attack on Mr. Baldwin, unprovoked. Mr. Bottomley was the aggressor. The assault on Mr. Baldwin was not a spontaneous act. Indeed, Mr. Bottomley armed himself with a knife, which he used to carry out the unlawful act,” she wrote.
“In addition to being armed, Mr. Bottomley dressed for a confrontation, including through the use of protective gloves. These steps, taken knowingly and deliberately by Mr. Bottomley, reflect a clear and pre-conceived intention to harm Mr. Baldwin, and to avoid being deterred from that purpose by retaliatory force.”
The attack’s connection to the drug trade was a further aggravating factor, she ruled.
Devlin ultimately sentenced Bottomley to eight years in prison for the killing. However, with credit for 1,191 days of time served that sentence was reduced to three years and 38 days.
A second man, Jagpal Hothi, was also initially charged with first-degree murder in the case, but has since pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
According to the judgment published Tuesday, Hothi — who was also involved in the drug organization — arranged the ride to the crime scene and accompanied Bottomley, but waited outside the home.
He is due in court on Aug. 22 for sentencing.