The daughter of a London homicide victim lashed out at her father’s killer Monday after a judge rejected the Crown’s request to sentence the teenage shooter as an adult.
The 18-year-old, who can’t be identified because he was 15 when he gunned down Steve Sinclair, was sentenced to seven years – four in custody, three under community supervision.
The sentence sparked outrage from Sinclair’s daughter, Sienna, who threw a ball of paper at the teen and swore at him inside the ninth-floor courtroom.
“I never get to see dad again. He gets seven years,” she sobbed as a relative restrained her.
Superior Court Justice Mark Garson opted not to give the teen, referred to as TJT, any credit for the nearly three years he’s spent in pre-trial custody at the Sprucedale Youth Centre in Simcoe.
Sinclair, 49, was shot to death on Sept. 6, 2015, outside the Hamilton Road after-hours club that he ran. TJT previously told the court he was promised $10,000 – a bounty that was never paid – to shoot Sinclair in the legs, but maintained he didn’t intend to kill him.
“This was a brutal and senseless murder,” Garson said.
But TJT has shown strong potential for rehabilitation, Garson said, highlighting the progress he’s made in his education and ability to show remorse during the past three years in custody.
“He no longer aspires or worships the ‘gangsta’ lifestyle,” Garson said of TJT, a former drug dealer whose two older brothers have been shot.
The Crown wanted TJT to be sentenced as adult, which would have meant a life sentence with a maximum parole ineligibility of five to seven years because he committed the murder before he was 16.
A sheet-metal worker and talented guitar player, Sinclair was also a member of the Gatekeepers, a Hells Angels support club.
https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/family-rages-as-londoner-steve-sinclairs-teen-killer-is-sentenced-as-a-youth
The 18-year-old, who can’t be identified because he was 15 when he gunned down Steve Sinclair, was sentenced to seven years – four in custody, three under community supervision.
The sentence sparked outrage from Sinclair’s daughter, Sienna, who threw a ball of paper at the teen and swore at him inside the ninth-floor courtroom.
“I never get to see dad again. He gets seven years,” she sobbed as a relative restrained her.
Superior Court Justice Mark Garson opted not to give the teen, referred to as TJT, any credit for the nearly three years he’s spent in pre-trial custody at the Sprucedale Youth Centre in Simcoe.
Sinclair, 49, was shot to death on Sept. 6, 2015, outside the Hamilton Road after-hours club that he ran. TJT previously told the court he was promised $10,000 – a bounty that was never paid – to shoot Sinclair in the legs, but maintained he didn’t intend to kill him.
“This was a brutal and senseless murder,” Garson said.
But TJT has shown strong potential for rehabilitation, Garson said, highlighting the progress he’s made in his education and ability to show remorse during the past three years in custody.
“He no longer aspires or worships the ‘gangsta’ lifestyle,” Garson said of TJT, a former drug dealer whose two older brothers have been shot.
The Crown wanted TJT to be sentenced as adult, which would have meant a life sentence with a maximum parole ineligibility of five to seven years because he committed the murder before he was 16.
A sheet-metal worker and talented guitar player, Sinclair was also a member of the Gatekeepers, a Hells Angels support club.
https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/family-rages-as-londoner-steve-sinclairs-teen-killer-is-sentenced-as-a-youth