Simon Grant and his wife, Cora. (submitted photo/Cora Laich)

By Derek Cornet

Sentencing Hearing

Offender described as ‘main planner’ during manslaughter sentencing hearing

Mar 26, 2019 | 12:00 PM

A witness in the sentencing hearing of a young man who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the April 2017 death of Simon Grant told court the offender said he was the main planner during an interview.

That was the testimony of probations supervisor John Seidler, who was examined and crossed-examined for more than four hours Monday at the La Ronge courthouse. He was being questioned in regards to a pre-sentence report he wrote about the offender, who can’t be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Seidler conducted an interview on the young man in February 2018 at Kilburn Hall in Saskatoon.

“He basically told me from beginning to end of the event,” he told the court. “He didn’t require much for repeating the questions.”

Seidler stated there wasn’t a great deal of planning in the murder, but added there was more planning than he usually would see. He was told the offender decided to rob Grant after it was learned the original target wasn’t in town. Seidler also noted the offender told him he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol when the crime occurred.

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Seidler was also questioned about the Level of Service Inventory (LSI) report he submitted, which showed a 53 per cent chance the offender would reoffend in the community if left without supervision for three years. He said the offender scored a level four out of five and the LSI included risk factors such as family circumstances and parenting, pro-criminal attitudes or orientation, asocial patterns and substance use and abuse. In cross-examining, however, it was noted the LSI is no longer valid as it is more than a year old and the offender’s level could have decreased or increased in that time.

Back in November, court heard the agreed statements of facts regarding Grant’s murder, which occurred at his Louisiana’s Bar-B-Que in La Ronge. The court also reviewed victim impact statements, before Judge Lane found ‘grave concerns’ in one and adjourned court until yesterday. On Monday, the remaining victim impact statements were heard from family members, friends and the Northern Village of Air Ronge.

Court also watched the final moments the family had with Grant in a Saskatoon hospital.

The sentencing hearing is expected to resume in April and Judge Lane will determine whether the offender should be sentenced as an adult. Austin Bird and a 15-year-old boy who both pleaded guilty to manslaughter have already been sentenced with Bird receiving seven years and the youth given three.

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno