A former Prince George man has been identified as the victim of a homicide in West Kelowna.
Joel James Pennell, 27, who once served a sentence for drug dealing in this city, was the person killed in a targeted shooting on Friday night, according to the Kelowna Capital News.
Pennell's friends were mourning his loss on social media, the newspaper said.
RCMP did not release a name, but did say the victim lived a "high-risk lifestyle" and "was well known to police."
In 2013, Pennell was sentenced at the Prince George courthouse to two-years less a day of house arrest - formally known as a conditional sentence order - followed by three years probation for trafficking.
He and another man were arrested in June 2011 during a drug-related takedown in the parking lot of a College Heights shopping centre. On Pennell, police found an ounce of cocaine, a two-thirds of an ounce of ecstasy and three ounces of methamphetamine in addition to the sawed off shotgun, for which he pleaded guilty to possession of a prohibited weapon without a licence.
In sentencing Pennell, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Patrice Abrioux said his case was "more problematic" of the two she had to deal with.
He had been dealing for about a year at the time he was apprehended and was attending the College of New Caledonia, where he was one course shy of completing a diploma in business.
While at CNC, Pennell fell in with some people involved in trafficking and due to a perceived lack of income began dealing himself, based out of an O'Grady Road home. Pennell was addicted to Valium and suffered a seizure due to withdrawal while in custody but also enjoyed a better lifestyle than a typical student, Abrioux said.
Abrioux found Pennell was significantly motivated by personal gain, was involved in mid-level drug trafficking of cocaine, methamphetamine and ecstasy, and was found with a sawed off shotgun when arrested, albeit unloaded at the time.
Pennell also claimed in a pre-sentence report that he was about to get rid of the weapon by throwing it in the river, a statement Abrioux found "convenient at best and untruthful at worst."
But he also noted Pennell has lived up to the conditions of his recognizance during the lengthy time the case had been before the courts, had solid support from his family, and had moved to Okanagan where he has started up two new businesses with the help of a partner.
According to the Capital News, Pennell owned a company called Traphouse Skateboards which was registered to the West Kelowna address on McTaggart Road that police were called to with a report of shots fired. He was found dead in a vehicle in the driveway.
Neighbours described Pennell as a "good kid" and was expected to get married this month, the Capital New reported.
No arrests have yet been made in connection with the death.
