A former Red Deer man already serving a life sentence for first-degree murder was sentenced to four years in prison in Red Deer provincial court on Tuesday.
In August, Christopher Martin Fleig, 29, pleaded guilty to three counts of giving contradictory evidence while testifying at his own trial, as well as at the preliminary hearing for three other men charged in connection with the same incident.
Fleig and the others were arrested in connection with the gang-style murder of Red Deer resident Brandon Neil Prevey, 29. Prevey died in a hail of bullets outside a home on Ibbotson Close in the early hours of April 5, 2009.
Fleig was found guilty of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years, the mandatory sentence under the Criminal Code.
“As a result of his contradictory evidence, three others were discharged from the crime,” said Crown prosecutor Robin Snider.
She said Fleig’s actions were planned and deliberate.
During Fleig’s trial in 2012, he gave details on the locations of the three men. But at the preliminary hearing in 2011, held to determine if there is enough evidence to warrant an accused be tried in Court of Queen’s Bench, he did not provide their locations.
Defence lawyer Walter Kubanek said after the murder that his client was fearful of the men and didn’t want to be in jail with them.
Fleig told the court he was trying to protect himself and his family when he gave the contradictory evidence.
“People don’t know what goes on in the shadows and the underworld,” said Fleig, who maintained he was a big player in the local drug trade for six years.
Judge Bert Skinner accepted the four-year prison sentence presented as a joint submission from Crown and defence counsel.
“By accepting this lifestyle you know the risks involved,” Skinner said.
Fleig was also scheduled to appeal his murder conviction before the Alberta Court of Appeal in Calgary on Tuesday.