‘One of the greatest tragedies I have seen’: judge sentences man to six years in 2023 accidental shooting death of stepson

A Manitoba man has been sentenced to six years in prison in the accidental shotgun killing of his 27-year-old stepson.

Cory Davis, 45, pleaded guilty last fall to criminal negligence causing death and possessing a firearm while prohibited in the Aug. 1, 2023, shooting death of Dylan Jones.

“This is one of the greatest tragedies I have seen,” provincial court Judge Robin Finlayson said Wednesday. “This truly was an accident… there was no intent to kill.”

Court heard Jones had been visiting the Blumenort townhouse home of his mother and Davis for a barbecue prior to the shooting.

Davis and Jones had both been drinking throughout the day, with Davis consuming a “significant amount” of alcohol, as well as marijuana, Crown attorney Kristee Logan told court.

Logan said Jones’s mother had stepped outside for a cigarette at about 7:45 p.m., leaving the two men alone in the house, when Jones showed Davis a replica starter pistol he had acquired.

That prompted Davis to show Jones a sawed-off shotgun he had stored in a bedroom closet.

Davis pulled the gun from the closet without checking to see if it was loaded. Jones reached for the gun and Davis pulled it away, saying: “Don’t do that,” when the gun accidentally discharged, hitting Jones in his right hip, penetrating his femoral artery and killing him.

Jones’ mother, Sally Davis, heard a loud bang, ran back into the house and saw her son dying on the bedroom floor, Logan said.

“Mr. Davis was crying, saying he accidentally shot Dylan,” Logan said.

Cory Davis called 911 and administered first aid until paramedics arrived minutes later.

In a subsequent interview with police, Davis said he believed Jones had touched the gun, but was unsure how the trigger was pulled and that “everything happened in a split-second.”

Court heard Davis at the time was prohibited from possessing firearms and had kept the illegal weapon for protection since being released from Stony Mountain Correctional Institution five years earlier.

Davis has a lengthy prior criminal record, with multiple convictions for crimes of violence and has long struggled with an addiction to alcohol, court was told.

Logan said the shooting was entirely avoidable had Davis obeyed the law.

“This terrible tragedy is why we have such strong gun laws in our country,” Logan said. “He chose to drink that day, knowing bad things happen when he drinks. He chose to keep a firearm in the closet, blind to whether or not it was loaded… and he chose to bring out that firearm. It was a combination of those choices that ended in tragedy.”

Family members said Jones was a caring, loving man who was just finding his way in life and had recently expressed his readiness to start a family.

“He brought joy into every room he walked into,” his cousin Dallas Jones said in a victim impact statement. “What hurts most is that Dylan loved and trusted the man who took his life.”

“Never forget his name, never forget his face,” Jones’ brother Nathan Jones told Davis. “He had nothing but love for you.”

Davis pleaded guilty to an additional count of breaching a non-communication order after he placed repeated calls to Jones’ mother while in custody.

Logan and defence lawyer Saheel Zaman jointly recommended the six-year sentence in a plea bargain that took into account uncertainty surrounding how the shotgun was fired and spared family members the stress of a trial.

Zaman said Davis readily admitted his guilt, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and is “haunted” by Jones’ death.

Davis said he loved Jones and had no intention of hurting him.

“None of this was supposed to happen, I mean that from the bottom of my heart,” he said. “It ruined my life and it ruined everyone else’s life along with it.”

Jones received credit for time served, reducing his remaining sentence to three years.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca