Supreme Court
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Abstract: Transcript of the Reasons for Sentence
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R. v. Fantasque, 2007 NWTSC 32 S-1-CR-2007-000020 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES IN THE MATTER OF: HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN - v - TROY WILFORD FANTASQUE __________________________________________________________ Transcript of the Reasons for Sentence delivered by The Honourable Justice J.Z. Vertes, sitting in Yellowknife, in the Northwest Territories, on the 7th day of May, A.D. 2007. __________________________________________________________ APPEARANCES: Mr. S. Hinkley: Counsel for the Crown Ms. T. Nguyen: Counsel for the Accused (Charge under s. 239(a), 244, 268 Criminal Code of Canada) Official Court Reporters 1 THE COURT: The accused, Troy Fantasque, 2 has pleaded guilty to a charge that he, during 3 the evening of February 1st, 2007, at the Hamlet 4 of Fort Liard, discharged a firearm with intent 5 to wound Derwin Kotchea, the victim in this 6 tragic case. 7 The admitted facts reveal that the accused 8 was drinking alcohol and consuming marijuana on 9 the evening in question. He was in a belligerent 10 state, having gotten into arguments and fights 11 with others. At one point he threatened to shoot 12 a number of people and had retrieved a sawed-off 13 .22 calibre rifle. 14 The accused repeatedly asked the victim to 15 leave the house. The victim laid down on a couch 16 and pretended to sleep. The accused then walked 17 up to him and pointed the rifle at the victim's 18 head. He pulled the trigger and a .22 calibre 19 round entered the victim's skull above his right 20 eye. 21 The accused then left the house and hid the 22 rifle. 23 The authorities were called by the accused's 24 sister. The victim was stabilized and medevaced 25 to Edmonton. 26 The accused was arrested later that morning. 27 He was cooperative and told the police where they Official Court Reporters 1 1 could find the rifle. He also made a voluntary 2 inculpatory statement to the authorities. 3 With respect to the victim's condition, I 4 will recite the pertinent portions of the Agreed 5 Statement of Facts: 6 The full extent of Mr. Kotchea's 7 injuries are not yet known. The 8 .22 calibre round apparently 9 broke apart and followed two 10 trajectories, one to the orbital 11 floor and the other along the 12 left orbit and into the 13 musculature. A part of the 14 bullet is lodged between 15 Mr. Kotchea's right sphenoid and 16 the temporal bone. Mr. Kotchea 17 required surgery on the left side 18 of his face. Mesh was inserted 19 into the orbital cavity of the 20 eye, along with a microplate and 21 sutures, and there are metallic 22 shrapnel fragments in the orbital 23 cavity, the nasopharynx and 24 sinuses. There are soft tissue 25 changes in the sinuses along with 26 a medial bowing of the left 27 orbit. As the round entered Official Court Reporters 2 1 Mr. Kotchea's skull, it caused 2 multiple fracturing of the left 3 orbital walls and superior orbit. 4 At this point, Mr. Kotchea's 5 vision in his left eye is gone. 6 Although not certain at this 7 time, he may require the removal 8 of the eye in the future. In any 9 event, the vision cannot be 10 restored. 11 In this case, I have had the benefit of an 12 extensive pre-sentence report, and I thank the 13 probation officer who prepared it. 14 The accused is 24 years old. He and three 15 siblings were raised in the small community of 16 Fort Liard by his mother. He was apparently 17 raised in an unhealthy, dysfunctional environment 18 where alcohol abuse was prevalent. Proper 19 structure and discipline were missing from his 20 life. The accused struggled with his education 21 and quit at a Grade 10 level. He has had 22 sporadic employment as a labourer. 23 The accused has a minor, unrelated criminal 24 record. However, he was described as being a 25 kind and helpful individual, but one whose 26 maturity level is far below what would be 27 appropriate for his age. Official Court Reporters 3 1 The crime for which the accused has been 2 convicted is extremely serious. It carries a 3 mandatory minimum sentence of four years' 4 imprisonment; one of the few offences in the 5 Criminal Code which require a mandatory minimum 6 sentence. The consequences of this senseless act 7 will be felt by the victim, and his family, for 8 the rest of his life. Thus principles of 9 deterrence and denunciation play a significant 10 role in determining an appropriate sentence. 11 On the other hand, I must give recognition 12 to the genuine remorse demonstrated by the 13 accused, as reflected most dramatically by this 14 prompt guilty plea. He is still a young man, so 15 I must also look to the possibility of his 16 rehabilitation. 17 I am also required by the Criminal Code to 18 give consideration to his status as an aboriginal 19 offender. The circumstances under which he grew 20 up unfortunately reflect the reality of many 21 aboriginal communities. It can be considered to 22 be part of the systemic problems that this young 23 man and others like him have faced and provided a 24 background for the reason why he is in court 25 today. It is sad but true, but alcohol and drug 26 abuse is all too common in our communities, large 27 or small; and I note particularly in the Official Court Reporters 4 1 pre-sentence report the fact that this offender 2 started to abuse both alcohol and marijuana at a 3 very young age and has continued to do so until 4 this tragic event. 5 Both counsel recognize that sentencing for 6 this type of offence is very fact-specific. 7 Sentences range over a wide spectrum. Here, 8 however, they are more or less in agreement on 9 the appropriate range, and I find their 10 submissions to be very helpful in this regard. 11 Stand up, Mr. Fantasque. 12 Mr. Fantasque, I find that an appropriate 13 sentence in this case will be one of five years' 14 imprisonment. From that, I will provide credit 15 for the time already spent on remand. 16 The accused has been in custody for a little 17 over three months, and at a normal credit of 18 two-for-one, I will deduct six months from 19 sentence, so that the effective sentence will be 20 one of four and a half years. 21 You may sit down. 22 In addition, there will be an order 23 requiring the accused to provide a blood sample 24 for DNA analysis and registration in the DNA 25 databank. 26 There will also be an order imposing a 27 firearms prohibition for a period of ten years. Official Court Reporters 5 1 That order will be subject to an exemption for 2 sustenance purposes only pursuant to Section 113 3 of the Criminal Code. 4 On that last point, I note the evidence that 5 the accused helps to support his extended family 6 by hunting for food, and I also note that Crown 7 counsel does not oppose the exemption. 8 Mr. Fantasque, as I said, you are still a 9 young man. This was a senseless, unprovoked act, 10 and is something that will affect you for the 11 rest of your life and I hope may lead you to 12 considering how you can change your life to be 13 far more productive in the future - far more 14 productive and caring for yourself and others 15 around you. For your sake, as counsel had 16 mentioned previously, this act could have been 17 far, far more serious. But I am sure you 18 appreciate that the consequences of your act will 19 live with the victim, Mr. Kotchea, for the rest 20 of his life and you owe him a great debt. 21 Thank you, Counsel, for your assistance in 22 this case. 23 ................................. 24 25 26 27 Official Court Reporters 6 1 2 3 Certified Pursuant to Rule 723 of the Rules of Court 4 5 6 Jane Romanowich, CSR(A), RPR Court Reporter 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Official Court Reporters 7
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