Tears flowed in February when a Tachie woman was sentenced for fatally stabbing her on-again, off-again boyfriend in a confrontation fueled by drugs and alcohol.
Originally charged with second-degree murder, Annie Jean Anatole had pleaded guilty to the lesser included count of manslaughter in the death of Ryan Pierre on the Tachie reserve north of Fort St. James during an early morning in July 2016.
"I truly am remorseful for the death of Ryan," Anatole said as she read a prepared statement during a hearing at the Prince George courthouse.
"I never could have dreamed of anything like this happening to him or to anybody. It hurts my heart to feel that I not only did I lose someone that I dearly loved but so did his family. I'm very sorry from the bottom of my heart."
In the first major sentencing of 2019 at the Prince George courthouse, she was sentenced to four years in jail followed by three years probation. Less credit for time served, she had 50 days remaining in her time behind bars.
In March, a new trial was ordered for Kayne Sabbe Penner, a Vanderhoof man who had been sentenced in 2017 to four years in prison for the December 2012 shooting death of his fiancee, April Johnson.
The B.C. Court of Appeal court found B.C. Supreme Court Justice Paul Pearlman's charge to the jury was "inconsistent and confusing" with regard to the elements of the two charges Kayne Sabbe Penner was facing.
As well as finding him guilty of careless use of the firearm, the jury also found him guilty of the more serious count of manslaughter - and it was on that charge that Penner was sentenced.
Later the same month, Smitty Ralph Bent was sentenced to a further three years and three-and-a-half months in prison for shooting a man in September 2017 who confronted him and a fellow culprit caught sneaking onto a neighbour's property.
The man suffered a "through-and-through bullet wound" that punctured his right lung and splintered his shoulder blade. He nearly bled to death and ended up hospital for over a week.
As of February, when a sentencing hearing was held, the victim still had trouble with his breathing and use of one of his arms, the court was told. However, he declined to provide a formal victim impact statement.
Also in March, Jesse Cote was sentenced to a further two years and two months in prison for stabbing his boyfriend during a drug-fueled argument in March 2018 while the two were driving to Prince George.
If the victim had not waved down a passing vehicle along Highway 97 near Salmon Valley and got the occupants to call for help, he likely would have died, the court was told.
In sentencing Cote, provincial court judge Michael Gray told Cote that while an argument had preceded the stabbing, the attack was unprovoked. Gray also noted that Cote has been diagnosed with a form of psychosis yet failed to take steps to get help, despite that being a condition of his bail from a prior incident
"You were responsible for your conduct," Gray told Cote.
In June, Michael Campbell-Alexander was sentenced to three more years in prison for opening fire in October 2017 on an adversary in the driveway of a Tamarack Street drug house. Video from a security camera showed Campbell-Alexander sneaking out from another door as Cody Aubrey Lornsten was leaving the home and then pulling the trigger on a .22-calibre pistol.
The video showed flashes of gunfire as Lornsten returned fire with a shotgun and then escaped despite a wound to his leg. However, his dog, who was on a leash was killed. Campbell-Alexander, meanwhile, was hit in the ankle with buckshot.
He originally faced seven charges, including attempted murder, but eventually pleaded guilty to five, including discharging a firearm with intent to wound and killing an animal. In November 2018, Lornsten was sentenced to a further two-and-a-half years for possessing the shotgun.
In July, a then-64-year-old woman, Debra Velma Penttila, was sentenced to two years in jail for stealing more than $350,000 from her employer while working as an office manager in Prince George.
Between November 2004 and February 2011, she used her co-signing authority to alter 166 cheques adding up to $362,740 to make them payable to herself, then spent the money on gambling, the court heard. The fraud lasted until year-end accounts had to be reconciled in early 2011 and Penttila realized she could no longer cover up the fraud.
In October, one of the final loose ends in the June 2018 death of a College of New Caledonia student as she tried to jaywalk across Highway 97 was tied up when the driver of the pickup truck that hit her was found not guilty of driving while impaired.
Witness testimony established that Michelle Dac was observing the speed limit just before the accident and had no chance of stopping when Kaur ran out from in front of a van stopped in the right lane.
Matters were complicated when Dac guzzled a mix of cooler and vodka to try to calm herself down after the collision. After watching video surveillance taken at the liquor store where Dac made her purchases right before the accident, provincial court judge Peter McDermick said concluded she seemed steady on her feet and found there was reasonable doubt as to whether she was impaired.
Also in October, Ivan Christopher Skin was sentenced to nearly six years in prison for a violent December 2017 invasion of 2100-block Redwood Street home.
During a trial, victims said three people wearing masks burst into their 2100-block Redwood Street home, one carrying a bat and a can of mace and another carrying a gun and all yelling at the occupants to stay down and not look at the attackers.
The trio made off with a video game machine, cash and cellphones after going through the home over the course of 15-20 minutes. At least two of the occupants were hit in the head and one was pistol whipped, creating a cut that required special stitching and left a scar, the court heard.
Testimony regarding Skin's "squeaky man voice" and the discovery across the street of a bag holding a hat linked to Skin through DNA testing put him at the scene.
Co-accused Vincent Williams and Theresa Marie Charlie were acquitted in June of all charges due to a lack of evidence.
Following perhaps the biggest trial of the year, Perry Andrew Charlie was found guilty in November of second-degree murder in the drug-related shootings deaths of two men and serious wounding of a third nearly three years ago.
He will join co-accused Seaver Tye Miller and Joshua Steven West in sentencing in 2020 on the same count while Aaron Ryan Moore was sentenced to five years on two counts of criminal negligence causing death. Less credit for time served, he had 282 days remaining.
Much verdict hinged on testimony a man who drove the four to the scene and of his friend, who had come along for the ride. Defence counsel's case depended heavily on some apparent confusion when one of the two identified Charlie from a police photo pack.
David Laurin Franks and Thomas Burt Reed, as well as Reed's Shih Tzu dog, Molly were killed in a hail of gun fire after Franks parked his car at a pullout on Foothills Boulevard near North Nechako Road to carry out a drug deal. Bradley William Knight, who dove onto the back seat floor, was the sole survivor.
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