Photo: Castanet file photo

Vernon court house where Coghill and Tkachuk were sentenced.

The two men found guilty of a violent and chaotic home invasion in Lumby were each sentenced to more than a decade behind bars.

Edward Coghill, 50, and Stewart Tkachuk, 53, were sentenced in Vernon Supreme Court on Monday by Justice John Gibb-Carsley.

The home invasion took place in the early morning of Sept. 18, 2019 at a Dure Meadow Road home. Victims James Jurica and Candice Kado had been at home, awake and in bed, when Coghill and Tkachuk broke in with their faces covered, carrying shotguns.

According to court documents, the pair shot out power to some lights and entered the bedroom where Jurica was shot in the chest, stomach and hip.

After the victims fought back, Coghill and Tkachuk retreated and reloaded their guns, shooting into the wall and a shotgun pellet hit Kado in the chin. Jurica then stopped resisting and the two intruders continuously beat him with a metal baton or baseball bat, causing significant head wounds.

“After the initial attack, I found that Mr. Tkachuk held Ms. Kado and Mr. Jurica at gunpoint while Mr. Coghill ransacked the house,” reads Gibb-Carsley's decision. “At one point during the home invasion, Mr. Coghill forced Ms. Kado at gunpoint to the basement and commanded that she open a safe.”

Coghill and Tkachuk ziptied the victims' hands and stole several items from the home including cash, a television, jewellery and Jurica’s truck.

Kado was able to free herself and brought Jurica to Vernon Jubilee Hospital where he was treated.

Mounties found the stolen truck, abandoned at about 5 a.m. the same morning, and during evidence gathering found Coghill and Tkachuk showed planning and deliberation involved in the home invasion.

During final submissions in December, Crown counsel Brock Bellrichard and both defense lawyers were far apart.

For Coghill, Bellrichard said he should spend 16 to 18 years behind bars, while his lawyer, Dominique Verdurmen, said he should spend eight years in jail. For Tkachuk, Bellrichard said he should spend between 17 and 19 years in jail, while defense counsel Claire Mastop argued for 10 to 11 years behind bars.

Ultimately, Gibb-Carsley sentenced Coghill to 11 years behind bars, less 240 days for time served before the trial. Tkachuk was sentenced to 12 years, less 450 days for time already served.

Both men were handed a lifetime firearms ban, must have no contact with either victim, and will need to submit a DNA sample to police for registry in a national database.

In June 2024, Coghill and Tkachuk were found guilty of six offences each – break and enter and commit robbery, discharge firearm with intent to wound, face masked with intent to commit indictable offence, unlawful confinement, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm without being the holder of a license.

Tkachuk had one additional charge, possession of a firearm while prohibited.