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A trial involving the killers of an Ottawa teenager has finally drawn to a close after almost five years of waiting.
Family and friends of Michael Swan gathered in an Ottawa courtroom Wednesday morning to hear the sentencing for the remaining two men involved in the shooting and killing of the 19-year-old over a small quantity of drugs, cash and some video games.
Kyle Mullen and Dylon Barnett, both 23, were convicted of second-degree murder by a jury in late 2013. The two were both sentenced to life in prison. Mullen will not be eligible for parole for 15 years, minus time already served, which means he could be eligible for parole as early as 2025. Barnett was sentenced to life in prison without eligibility for parole for 12 years, meaning he could seek parole as early as 2022. Both men were ordered to provide DNA samples to police and are banned for owning firearms or other dangerous weapons for the rest of their lives.
A third man involved in the case, Kristopher McLellan, who pulled the trigger that led to Swan’s death, was convicted of first-degree murder in late 2013 and is serving a life sentence. A fourth, Toronto’s Sam Tsega, who allegedly provided information to the others about where to find Swan, still awaits trial.
In rendering decisions, judges were forced to consider the history of two men who have led very different lives.
Mullen comes from a home in Toronto where he was abandoned by his mother at a young age and left in the care of his father, who appears to have been uninvolved in the man’s life, according to the court. He was never employed, has only a Grade 8 education and has a criminal record dating back to his early teenage years. Mullen also claimed in court that he is of aboriginal decent, forcing delays in a sentencing that was originally scheduled for March 2014.
Mullen requested a Gladue report be conducted on him and his aboriginal background. A Gladue is a pre-sentencing or bail hearing report a court must consider when deciding the fate of a person of aboriginal background.
In his decision, Justice Patrick Smith found that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Mullen was in fact of aboriginal descent. His claim that his mother may be part native was dismissed by family members and there was no other documented proof that he is part of any native community. Justice Smith also pointed to the fact that Mullen claims he converted to Islam, becoming a Muslim for a brief period in 2011, while incarcerated. He has since claimed he does not practise any religion, according to Justice Smith.
Mullen was also involved in an assault while awaiting sentencing, which factored into the judge’s decision to sentence the 23-year-old to 15 years without the chance for parole, instead of the minimum 10 years.
Barnett, also from Toronto, came from a middle class family where he was raised primarily by his grandmother. He was a student at Leaside High School in Toronto, where he completed Grade 11. According to a submission to the courts by his grandmother, the man excelled at sports and was showing a promising future in football and basketball. All of his friends have gone on to graduate from university.
“He was never in ‘the projects,’ never in a gang or hung out with thugs at school. His life was quite the contrary,” read his grandmother’s statement, which was submitted as part of Justice Douglas Rutherford’s sentencing decision. “This is the paradox, how Dylon got involved in this crime is truly a mystery to me. To this day I still do not understand it.”
Late on Feb. 22, 2010, three masked men, all dressed in black and with handguns drawn, stormed into a home at 4139 Moodie Dr. and forced Swan, his girlfriend and roommates to their knees, demanding to know where he kept his money and marijuana. Swan, a known marijuana dealer, was renting the property.
One pressed a gun into Swan’s back and asked him again.
Then, according to his girlfriend’s testimony, Swan reached for something — she thinks his cellphone — and at that moment, McLellan shot him.
His friends tried to tend to the wounded Swan but were told by the gunman not to touch him.
The intruders took $3,000, some video games, almost two kilograms of marijuana and cellphones from the remaining people in the house, who then were led single file to a basement sauna and told to stay there for 10 minutes before the invaders hit the highway for Toronto.
By the time emergency crews arrived, Swan was dead.
Police used those cellular phones to track the trio as they left Ottawa. They were apprehended by police on Highway 410 between Brockville and Ganonoque.
vpilieci@ottawacitizen.com
查看原文...
Family and friends of Michael Swan gathered in an Ottawa courtroom Wednesday morning to hear the sentencing for the remaining two men involved in the shooting and killing of the 19-year-old over a small quantity of drugs, cash and some video games.
Kyle Mullen and Dylon Barnett, both 23, were convicted of second-degree murder by a jury in late 2013. The two were both sentenced to life in prison. Mullen will not be eligible for parole for 15 years, minus time already served, which means he could be eligible for parole as early as 2025. Barnett was sentenced to life in prison without eligibility for parole for 12 years, meaning he could seek parole as early as 2022. Both men were ordered to provide DNA samples to police and are banned for owning firearms or other dangerous weapons for the rest of their lives.
A third man involved in the case, Kristopher McLellan, who pulled the trigger that led to Swan’s death, was convicted of first-degree murder in late 2013 and is serving a life sentence. A fourth, Toronto’s Sam Tsega, who allegedly provided information to the others about where to find Swan, still awaits trial.
In rendering decisions, judges were forced to consider the history of two men who have led very different lives.
Mullen comes from a home in Toronto where he was abandoned by his mother at a young age and left in the care of his father, who appears to have been uninvolved in the man’s life, according to the court. He was never employed, has only a Grade 8 education and has a criminal record dating back to his early teenage years. Mullen also claimed in court that he is of aboriginal decent, forcing delays in a sentencing that was originally scheduled for March 2014.
Mullen requested a Gladue report be conducted on him and his aboriginal background. A Gladue is a pre-sentencing or bail hearing report a court must consider when deciding the fate of a person of aboriginal background.
In his decision, Justice Patrick Smith found that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Mullen was in fact of aboriginal descent. His claim that his mother may be part native was dismissed by family members and there was no other documented proof that he is part of any native community. Justice Smith also pointed to the fact that Mullen claims he converted to Islam, becoming a Muslim for a brief period in 2011, while incarcerated. He has since claimed he does not practise any religion, according to Justice Smith.
Mullen was also involved in an assault while awaiting sentencing, which factored into the judge’s decision to sentence the 23-year-old to 15 years without the chance for parole, instead of the minimum 10 years.
Barnett, also from Toronto, came from a middle class family where he was raised primarily by his grandmother. He was a student at Leaside High School in Toronto, where he completed Grade 11. According to a submission to the courts by his grandmother, the man excelled at sports and was showing a promising future in football and basketball. All of his friends have gone on to graduate from university.
“He was never in ‘the projects,’ never in a gang or hung out with thugs at school. His life was quite the contrary,” read his grandmother’s statement, which was submitted as part of Justice Douglas Rutherford’s sentencing decision. “This is the paradox, how Dylon got involved in this crime is truly a mystery to me. To this day I still do not understand it.”
Late on Feb. 22, 2010, three masked men, all dressed in black and with handguns drawn, stormed into a home at 4139 Moodie Dr. and forced Swan, his girlfriend and roommates to their knees, demanding to know where he kept his money and marijuana. Swan, a known marijuana dealer, was renting the property.
One pressed a gun into Swan’s back and asked him again.
Then, according to his girlfriend’s testimony, Swan reached for something — she thinks his cellphone — and at that moment, McLellan shot him.
His friends tried to tend to the wounded Swan but were told by the gunman not to touch him.
The intruders took $3,000, some video games, almost two kilograms of marijuana and cellphones from the remaining people in the house, who then were led single file to a basement sauna and told to stay there for 10 minutes before the invaders hit the highway for Toronto.
By the time emergency crews arrived, Swan was dead.
Police used those cellular phones to track the trio as they left Ottawa. They were apprehended by police on Highway 410 between Brockville and Ganonoque.
vpilieci@ottawacitizen.com
查看原文...
