Crown seeks 15 years in slaying

Photo: CTV

A Cape Breton fisherman should be given a 15-year prison sentence for killing a man he said enraged him after cutting his lobster traps and threatening to burn his home, the Crown said Thursday.

Sentencing arguments are being delivered in the case of Joseph James Landry, who was convicted by a jury in November of manslaughter in Phillip Boudreau's death.

The 43-year-old man vanished on June 1, 2013. His body has never been found.

Boudreau's sister spoke of the anguish she felt "knowing his body was left discarded like old bait."

"How do I put into words the reality and cruelty of my brother's death?" Margaret Rose Boudreau said in a victim impact statement before the Nova Scotia Supreme Court.

The defence is seeking a sentence of seven years, minus 2 1/2 years credit for time Landry has served in custody awaiting trial.

Landry pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder. During his trial, the Crown said Boudreau's death was the result of a sustained attack by a three-man lobster fishing crew that included Landry, one of four people charged in the case.

The jury heard that Boudreau's boat, called the Twin Maggies, was rammed three times in Petit de Grat harbour and Landry fired four rifle shots at Boudreau, one of which hit him in the leg.

The Nova Scotia Supreme Court was told that Boudreau was then hooked with a fishing gaff and dragged out to sea before he was tied to an anchor.

Craig Landry, who is Joseph James Landry's third cousin, was previously charged with second-degree murder but that was withdrawn. He now faces a charge of accessory after the fact.

The captain of the Twin Maggies, Dwayne Matthew Samson, also faces a second-degree murder charge. His wife Carla Samson, who owns the lobster boat, faces a charge of accessory after the fact. She is also Joseph James Landry's daughter.

Those three accused have yet to stand trial.