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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Eight years for shooting, paralyzing teen
It was a split-second decision that had a life-altering outcome. Now, a chronic Manitoba criminal has been sentenced to eight years in prison for shooting and paralyzing a teen who was running away from his house.
Kyle McKenzie, 25, pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges including discharging a firearm with intent to wound and breaching several court orders, including a weapons prohibition that was supposed to keep him away from guns. He returned to court Tuesday afternoon to learn his fate.
Queen's Bench Justice Robert Dewar gave him credit for 20 months of pretrial custody, plus another six years and four months behind bars. The Crown sought a 101/2-year total sentence, while defence lawyer Ryan Amy had argued for the mandatory minimum of four years.
McKenzie has a lengthy criminal record and was on probation at the time of the January 2011 attack in Seymourville, about 200 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.
Several people had burst into his home, disrupted his party and assaulted several occupants. That's when McKenzie grabbed his .22-calibre rifle and opened fire as the group ran from the scene.
The 18-year-old victim was about 135 metres away when he was shot in the throat, court was told. The bullet struck his spine, leaving him a quadriplegic.
Dewar said Tuesday he was giving McKenzie some leniency because of the extenuating circumstances of the shooting, specifically that the victim and others had initially caused him to fear for his safety.
"The degree of provocation in this case should play some role in the length of the sentence," said the judge. But he admitted there was no longer an imminent threat given that the group was fleeing the scene. Dewar said McKenzie was also under the "haze" of intoxication when he pulled the trigger, meaning it wasn't a planned or premeditated act.
Dewar said it's clear the tragedy could have been avoided if McKenzie had obeyed his court-ordered weapons ban.
"This offence would never have happened if Mr. McKenzie didn't have a firearm in his house," he said.
www.mikeoncrime.com
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 5, 2012 B3
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