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Kelowna  

Two sentenced in shoot out

Two of the three accused Westside Shooters were sentenced in Kelowna on Friday. They were involved in a chase and exchange of gun fire with police in July of 2012.

The chase stretched from West Kelowna to Vernon along Westside Road and involved numerous carjackings. It eventually culminated with the arrest of three suspects near the Swan Lake exchange; Ashley Collins, Shawn Wysynski and Michael Ellis.

Ellis is still on trial after pleading not guilty to 22 charges. 

Shawn Wysynski pleaded guilty to one charge of armed robbery and one charge of attempted armed robbery early in the trial proceedings.

Justice Peter Rogers sentenced him to nine years in a federal institution, minus 39 months credit for his 26 months served in a remand centre. He also received a lifetime firearms ban and is required to give a DNA sample. 

Wysynski will be eligible for parole after serving one year. 

"His criminal record can lead one to no conclusion other than, Mr Wysynski simply has no attachment to normal society," Justice Rogers said. "I'm not optimistic that whatever programs may be available to him in custody will have a rehabilitative effect, but, as they say 'never say never,' and who knows, Mr Wysynski might eventually surprise us all." 

Collins pleaded guilty to knowingly being in a vehicle where there were illegal firearms. She was given a suspended sentence of 18 months and 18 months of probation.

She is also prohibited from possessing firearms for the next five years.

Collins said she was "pretty relieved," regarding the sentence.

During the chase, Collins suffered a gunshot wound to her abdomen during the melee. She was lying in the back of a black truck being driven by Wysynski and Ellis when she was wounded. The police bullet resulted in the loss of a kidney and a miscarriage for Collins. 

Despite these injuries, defence counsel Grant Gray said it was a "miracle" that no others were injured in the proceedings. 

Collins' significantly lighter sentence was based on her being 18-years-old at the time of the crime and the likelihood that her judgment was impaired by drug and alcohol use.

Gray submitted that Collins had given up the use of drugs and alcohol since the incident and had detoxified during her recovery in hospital. 

Collins apparently told her probation officer that the day she was shot was her worst day and also her best day - she now has a job, quit drugs and her employers have given good reviews of her behaviour.

Justice Rogers said he thought there was a good chance of her rehabilitation. 

 

 

 



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