The B.C. Court of Appeal has trimmed 4 1/2 months from the time a man must serve for a near-fatal shooting of a rival in Prince George.
In January 2016, Bradley Douglas Barr was sentenced to seven years in prison for pulling the trigger of his shotgun during a confrontation at a marijuana growop. Craig Frederick Lyver survived a trio of blasts but suffered what appear to be life-long injuries from the September 2012 incident.
Barr received credit of 11 months for time served prior to sentencing, reducing the term to a further six years and one month. But he was denied a further 137 days of credit for time he spent in custody after his bail was revoked to the date he was sentenced.
Barr was arrested three days after the shooting and released on bail 40 days later. Then, in February 2015, he was arrested in relation to a drug-related murder in Prince George that occurred before the shooting.
Barr was charged with first-degree murder in the drug-related death of Jordan Christian Reno and remained in pretrial custody until sentenced for shooting Lyver. But the count of first-degree murder from the other incident was eventually dropped and he was sentenced to eight years and nine months for manslaughter.
Upon sentencing, he was denied enhanced credit of 1 1/2 days for each day he spent in custody in relation to the murder. Instead, it was one-to-one adding up to 274 days.
However, in January, the BCCA found in a separate case that a section of the Criminal Code related to the issue was "overbroad because it captured offenders in ways that have nothing to do with is purpose of enhancing safety and security."
Applying that decision to Barr, the BCCA found he was entitled to enhanced credit and so, in a decision issued last week, he was granted a further 137 days credit.
