A Prince George man was sentenced Tuesday to a further 23 months in jail for pulling the trigger on a woman in a targeted shooting in a local park.
In all, Jeff John Lapier, 36, was sentenced to six years but received credit adding up to four years and one month for time served in custody prior to sentencing. He must also serve three years probation upon his release for the Feb. 15, 2016 incident in Moore's Meadow.
Lapier had targeted the woman, whose identity is protected by a court-ordered publication ban, because she was a key witness at a trial, the court was told.
She had been at Lapier's apartment the night before and he pulled her aside to talk about the case. After about an hour, she went home but during the early morning hours on the day in question, Lapier and his girlfriend, Ashlynn Noel Ruth Forrest, picked her up at her home, ostensibly to go back to his home to do drugs.
Instead, they took a circuitous route around the city and ended up at Moore's Meadow. The child locks had been activated, so the woman had to be let out of the car. He checked to see if either Forrest or the woman had cellphones, which they did not, and then told them he was looking for something he had stashed.
The woman suspected he was actually looking to make sure the coast was clear and became fearful she was going to be shot. She pointedly walked in front of Lapier and Forrest, hoping she wasn't going to get shot in the head, the court was told.
Lapier fired off four .32-calibre rounds and three of them hit her. One hit her upper back and went through her lung, and the other two pierced her lower back on either side of her spine.
The woman fell to the ground and Lapier and Forrest fled the scene. As they ran away, the woman held her breath because she could hear gurgling noises when she breathed.
She managed to drag herself a short distance to the side of Foothills Boulevard and flagged a passing driver. Police and ambulance were called and she was taken to the emergency ward at University Hospital of Northern B.C.
Her life was saved, but she suffered extreme injuries with lifelong consequences. Physicians removed about a foot of intestine from her but were unable to extract one of the bullets.
However, she did not provide a victim impact statement and instead has concentrated on getting her life in order. She's completed one year of sobriety and is doing well, the court was told.
As for Lapier, the court was told he is also a changed man. In the time he has been in custody, he has taken significant strides to rehabilitate himself and deal with his drug addiction.
"I'm trying to do whatever I can to be better in life and never be in this court again," he said when given a chance to speak prior to sentencing.
While he has an extensive criminal record, the last offence prior to the shooting was committed in 2010, it was also noted.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ron Tindale agreed with a joint submission from Crown and defence counsels on sentencing. He called the incident "disturbing and serious" but also noted the progress Lapier has made.
Lapier had originally been charged with attempted murder. But in late October, he pleaded guilty to the lesser count of discharging a firearm with attempt to wound as well as aggravated assault.
As for Forrest, the court was told she was a bystander who had no idea of Lapier's intentions and the counts of attempted murder and aggravated assault she was facing were stayed.
