12-year sentence for fatal stabbing at beer vendor

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This article was published 22/01/2025 (578 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man who admitted to stabbing another man to death during a dispute outside a strip club beer vendor will go to prison for more than a decade.

Cecil Vance Roulette, 39, stood trial last fall for second-degree murder in the September 2022 death of Enrique George Courchene. A jury found him guilty of manslaughter instead.

Court of King’s Bench Justice Gerald Chartier sentenced him to 12 years in prison Wednesday, saying significant punishment is warranted.

“When knives are carried by someone in this city and are taken out for an aggressive purpose and a stabbing resulting in a death ensues, the sentence should reflect society’s abhorrence for that type of violence,” Chartier said.

The Crown had sought a 13-year sentence.

Roulette was captured on video killing Courchene outside the Lipstixx strip club beer vendor on Arlington Street at Logan Avenue.

The Crown said he was stabbed after coming to the aid of his brother, who was involved in an unprovoked dispute with Roulette and others.

Two co-accused — Jade Allen Dumas and Calvin Harvey Maytwayashing — were acquitted of second-degree murder.

Security footage showed Courchene arrived at the vendor with his brother around 1:10 a.m., which was the same time as the three accused.

A melee between the groups broke out when Dumas punched Courchene’s brother and knocked him to the ground. Roulette produced a knife and tried to cut a chain from the fallen man’s neck, court heard.

That’s when Courchene ran to his brother’s aid and wrestled Roulette to the ground. Roulette turned his knife on Courchene and stabbed him nine times — including eight wounds to his torso, in about 22 seconds, Chartier said.

Earlier this month, defence lawyer Pam Smith urged Chartier to consider a sentence of no more than five years, arguing Courchene and his brother had been “posturing” about their membership in the Manitoba Warriors and Roulette was afraid they were armed with a gun.

Chartier accepted a threat may have been made, but said “Mr. Roulette did not show any signs of intimidation” and instead escalated the confrontation that otherwise might have come to an end.

“In any case, it does not justify the actions taken,” Chartier said. “I find a high degree of moral culpability.”

Chartier considered Roulette’s use of a weapon, the fact he was the only person who was armed and the numerous life-threatening stab wounds as aggravating factors.

He acknowledged Roulette expressed remorse for the killing.

Before delivering the verdict, the judge reviewed 22 victim impact statements submitted by Courchene’s friends and family.

“Any time there is a killing, there is a void that’s left that can never be completely healed,” Chartier said.

A pre-sentencing reported noted Roulette was raised in Winnipeg, but is a member of Long Plain First Nation. He has no work history, a Grade 7 education and five children. He was convicted of aggravated assault in 2005, for which he received a 36-month sentence.

Chartier gave Roulette enhanced credit for time he has served in custody, which amounts to roughly three-and-a-half years. He said Roulette’s prospects for rehabilitation are high.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca