Sentencing has been delayed for a man convicted of manslaughter in a 2022 fatal shooting near Eckville.
A full-day sentencing hearing had been set for Thursday for Dustin Lemay-Storms, 37, who was convicted of manslaughter on Feb. 14 by Red Deer Court of King's Bench Justice Wayne Renke following a three-week judge-alone trial in January.
Defence lawyer Cody Ackland asked for an adjournment because he had been laid up for a month to recover from a bad fall in his Edmonton home and was unable to have some necessary conversations with Lemay-Storms ahead of sentencing.
Among the outstanding issues was whether a pre-sentence report would be requested. Pre-sentence reports are prepared by parole officers to provide the sentencing judge with information about an offender's background, character, and other factors that could be relevant to determining a sentence.
A pre-sentence report was requested on Thursday and granted by Renke, who also agreed to an adjournment.
"I have no difficulty whatsoever granting an adjournment in these circumstances," he said.
Ackland, who appeared as did the judge and Crown prosecutor through a closed-circuit video link, said he suffered three broken vertebrae when he slipped on his stairs.
"No permanent damage. So, that's a lucky thing," he told the judge.
Lemay-Storms was initially charged with second-degree murder after opening fire in the early hours of June 20, 2022 on a pickup being driven by Stephen Pond, whose wife Leanne Low was in the passenger seat.
Six shots were fired at the pickup, and one hit Pond, 46, in the head, fatally wounding him. Low was uninjured.
Lemay-Storms was arrested by RCMP nine months after the shooting.
In finding Lemay-Storms guilty of manslaughter, the judge said there was not enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Lemay-Storms intentionally meant to kill Pond.
Pond and his wife were raising three children between the ages of four and eight at the time of his death. He also had two teenage children from an earlier relationship.
Justice Renke said, given the scenario in those early morning hours, it was "reasonably possible" Lemay-Storms was firing at the truck and not targeting Pond.
A manslaughter conviction in which a firearm was used is punishable by a minimum of four years in prison up to a life sentence.
Pond's family were notified ahead of time that sentencing was not going to happen and were not there. Five family members and supporters of Lemay-Storms did attend.
The case returns to court on July 7, when a new sentencing date is expected to be set.
