Jury returns guilty verdict in case of man who killed 3 at house party

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This article was published 20/04/2011 (5640 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG — A Winnipeg jury has found a man guilty as charged for a shooting spree that left three people dead and another three seriously injured.

Colton Patchinose, 21, was convicted this afternoon of three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder. Jurors needed only a few hours of deliberations to reach their verdict.

Patchinose admitted to his role in the March 2008 ambush but pleaded not guilty on the basis the shootings weren’t “planned or pre-meditated.”

Defence lawyers Mike Cook and Pam Smith wrapped up the high-profile trial earlier this week by urging jurors to find their client guilty of only second-degree murder.

“We admit it was an intentional killing … but intent to kill is not tantamount to planned and deliberate,” said Cook. “We agree he had the intent to kill but it arose just before the shooting occurred. His articulated intent up to that point was just to shoot up the place.”

The Crown told jurors they should have no difficulty finding Patchinose guilty as charged. They clearly agreed in reaching their speedy decision following the one-week trial.

Patchinose will be formally sentenced on Thursday morning to life in prison with no chance of parole for at least 25 years. Canada doesn’t allow for consecutive sentences when there are multiple murder victims, as was the case here.

The difference in degrees of murder was important because of potential parole eligibility. A conviction for second-degree could see parole eligibility set as low as 10 years.

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.

Roulette’s credibility was a key issue for jurors to consider, as defence lawyers tried to paint him as a liar with a personal agenda.

An 18-year-old co-accused, who was 15 at the time of the shooting, was sentenced last month to life in prison with no chance of parole for at least seven years. A jury convicted him last year of three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder. Queen’s Bench Justice Colleen Suche then ruled he would be raised to adult court for sentencing.

The young man maintains he still has no memory of the night of the shootings.

Jurors in the Patchinose case weren’t told about his convictions.