Fatally shooting bar patron in back three times worth at least 17 years in prison: judge

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/04/2025 (351 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg man convicted of shooting and killing an unarmed stranger in a crowded downtown hotel bar has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 17 years.

Christopher Bone, 34, was found guilty after trial of second-degree murder in the April 30, 2022, killing of 39-year-old Ryan Spence.

Bone’s actions were “violent, callous and brazen,” said King’s Bench Justice Shauna McCarthy.

Bone shot Spence “in the immediate presence of a hotel security officer and with complete disregard for the safety of the other bar patrons,” McCarthy said.

The two men were unknown to each other before becoming embroiled in an argument at the bar of the Marlborough Hotel shortly before midnight.

Witnesses who knew Spence described him as intoxicated and “more aggressive than usual” and said he had been “beaking off” to Bone and calling him names before he was twice escorted out of the bar by security staff.

After returning to the bar a third time, Spence walked across the dance floor, away from Bone, when Bone pulled a rifle out of his backpack and shot Spence three times in the back.

A security guard testified the shooter immediately put the gun back in the bag and fled to the Ellice Avenue exit, shouting for another man in the bar to flee with him and grab the backpack.

McCarthy rejected the defence’s argument that Spence’s actions prior to the shooting amounted to provocation, depriving Bone of the power of self control.

“Rather, the evidence was clear that Mr. Bone made the decision, possibly in response to annoyance and insults from Mr. Spence or some other reason unknown to the court, to pull out his gun and shoot Mr. Spence three times in the back,” McCarthy said, emphasizing Spence was unarmed and posed no threat to Bone.

“If Mr. Bone thinks his actions made him appear strong and powerful, I can only say to most people they are viewed as the exact opposite,” McCarthy said.

Bone has a history of gang involvement and a long criminal record that includes five convictions for crimes of violence and 40 convictions for breaching court orders.

McCarthy said Gladue factors, including a family history of residential school involvement and an upbringing marked by poverty, substance abuse and disconnection from his Indigenous culture, did not merit a reduction in Bone’s period of parole ineligibility.

Bone has been provided rehabilitative resources in the past, “but his violent behaviour has only increased,” McCarthy said.

“This sentence is not intended to remove all hope of rehabilitation, and leaves open the possibility of Mr. Bone being granted parole in the future if he is truly motivated to make changes,” she said.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca