Life in prison for fatal gunplay at house party

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This article was published 23/04/2011 (5310 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg gang member has been sentenced to life in prison for opening fire inside a crowded house party, killing three bystanders and seriously injuring three others.

Colton Patchinose, 21, was given the maximum sentence allowed by law on Thursday morning. He will be eligible for parole after 25 years. Canada doesn’t allow for consecutive sentences when there are multiple murder victims, as was the case here.

Jurors needed only a few hours to find Patchinose guilty on Wednesday of three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder.

A youth co-accused was previously found guilty of the same charges and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for seven years, which is the maximum sentence a teen raised to adult court can receive.

Patchinose had admitted to his role in the March 2008 ambush but pleaded not guilty to the most serious charge in the Criminal Code on the basis the shootings weren’t “planned or premeditated.” Defence lawyers Mike Cook and Pam Smith wrapped up the trial earlier this week by urging jurors to find their client guilty of only second-degree murder.

“Mr. Patchinose is sorry for the grief he caused the families of the deceased and those injured,” Cook told the Free Press.

Much of the Crown’s case against Patchinose was built on the evidence of another man who was originally arrested, only to have his charges dropped. Howard Roulette, 28, has close ties with the accused and testified last week about the events leading up to, and following, the shooting spree inside the home.

Scott Lavallee, 31, Jennifer Ward, 26, and Corey Keeper, 22, died after being struck at close range by at least eight of the 19 bullets fired that night. Nearly 30 people had gathered at the Weston-area home for a party, including Roulette and Patchinose.

Patchinose told Roulette he wanted to leave the party because he believed at least one of the people inside the home was responsible for an attack about 10 days earlier that left Patchinose suffering stab wounds.

“On the way to the house I asked them why they were doing this. (Patchinose) said those are the ones who stabbed me before,” said Roulette. He said Patchinose previously told him “black people” stabbed him, but Roulette said he didn’t see anyone who fit that description at the party. None of the victims was black.

Roulette was driving his car that night and claims he took Patchinose to a house on Pritchard Avenue, where he was told to wait outside. Patchinose emerged a few minutes later with the youth co-accused and told Roulette he wanted to return to the home on Alexander. On the way there, Patchinose and the youth produced guns, with Patchinose allegedly saying he wanted to go back inside and “shoot the place up.”

Roulette claims he balked at their plans and said he didn’t want to be involved. Patchinose allegedly threatened to shoot him if he didn’t comply.

www.mikeoncrime.com