A B.C. Supreme Court Justice reduced a conviction of second degree murder to manslaughter for Ricky John Smith in the 2004 death of Brent Melanson in the parking lot of a Prince George fast food restaurant.
Justice Kathleen Ker found there was reasonable doubt that Smith struck the fatal blow but did find Smith had struck Melanson in other areas with a machete during an altercation at the Third Avenue Dairy Queen and that he understood using the weapon could be potentially fatal.
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