Dakota Rayn Keewatin was convicted Aug. 19 of manslaughter after a BC Supreme Court judge ruled he fatally shot a man more than two years ago in the heat of passion, caused by sudden provocation.
Keewatin, born in 1993, had been charged with second-degree murder after the March 7, 2023 home invasion robbery at apartment 107 of the Connaught Hill apartments in Prince George. Keewatin did not testify at his trial which ended in early May, but reconvened in late June for closing arguments. The case is under a ban on publication of information about the victim’s identity.
Justice Ronald Tindale said Keewatin, who was not injured physically, opened the door to the apartment and a woman ran to the bathroom. At the doorway, a man with a pistol in his hand tried to enter the apartment.
Keewatin quickly disarmed the man who, along with a witness, fled down the hallway.
Keewatin fired the gun eight times, hitting the victim three times.
There was no evidence about the nature or history of any relationship between the accused and the victim before the incident.
Tindale said the Crown proved beyond reasonable doubt that Keewatin did not act in self-defence.
Tindale said that opening the door to one’s residence and having someone try to enter with a gun equipped with a silencer would be terrifying. But once Keewatin disarmed the intruder, both the intruder and witness began running away.
Tindale agreed with the Crown, that it was unreasonable for Keewatin to perceive a threat under the circumstances, because the threat was suddenly diminishing. Although, court heard, the threat would not be not entirely neutralized until the victim had excited the hallway.
“It was grossly disproportionate for the accused to fire eight rounds down the hallway at [the intruder], as he was clearly fleeing,” Tindale decided.
Tindale then went on to consider whether second-degree murder or manslaughter would be the correct conviction. Tindale ruled that Keewatin sought to cause the man harm, but not death.
Notably, the judge found that Keewatin was deprived of self-control based on the conduct of the victim, “given the nature of the provocation and the short time that the shooting occurred.”
“In my view, there was no time for the accused’s passion to cool,” Tindale said. “Based on the circumstances of this case, a culpable homicide of [the victim], which would otherwise be second degree murder, can be reduced to manslaughter because the accused committed the offence in the heat of passion caused by a sudden provocation.”
Tindale ordered a pre-sentencing report and a report analyzing the impact of Keewatin’s Indigenous background and historical suffering. His next appearance is Nov. 3 to fix a date for sentencing. A four-year sentence is the minimum for a conviction of manslaughter involving a firearm.
It was the second major crime case in 2025 involving Keewatin in which self defence was considered.
On March 3, Keewatin and another man, Kerridge Andrew Lowley, were acquitted for the Aug. 11, 2022 aggravated assault and break-and-enter at the Econo Lodge City Centre.
Keewatin disarmed a man wielding a machete, then used the machete on the man. The victim required emergency surgery to repair a nearly severed right arm and gashes to the right hand and knee.
Justice John Gibb-Carsley said it was “not unreasonable for Keewatin to defend himself by going on the offensive and attempting to neutralize what was a hostile threat to him.”
