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A gunman who accidentally shot an acquaintance dead while beating his face with a sawed-off shotgun has been ordered to spend six years in federal prison.
Lukas Anderson, 32, was sentenced in B.C. Supreme Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty last year to one count each of manslaughter with a firearm and possessing a firearm while prohibited.
Mikael “Mickey” Stewart, 23, was shot dead inside the Howard Johnson Motel on Columbia Street on Feb. 13, 2021.
Stewart was working at the time as a drug dealer and he owed his supplier a debt of $410.
Anderson and an accomplice showed up at a first-floor suite at the motel and asked for Stewart, looking to collect the debt. Two of Stewart's friends were in the room at the time and everyone knew each other.
Anderson pulled a sawed-off shotgun from a backpack and struck Stewart in the face. The gun discharged upon impact and Stewart died instantly.
Security cameras caught Anderson fleeing the motel suite with the shotgun in hand. It was discarded in a nearby alley and discovered by police.
’No opportunity to escape'
Crown prosecutor Alexandra Janse was seeking a sentence of eight years — seven for manslaughter and one for the gun charge — while defence lawyer Dan McNamee sought the mandatory minimum four years for manslaughter with a firearm.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Brad Smith split the difference and sentenced Anderson to six years in prison — 5.5 for manslaughter and six months for the firearms offence.
“Mr. Anderson’s attack on Mr. Stewart was unprovoked, apparently for no other reason than the enforcement of a drug debt,” he said. “Mr. Stewart had no opportunity to escape.”
Once he is given credit for time served, Anderson will have a little less than 2.5 years remaining on his sentence.
He was also ordered to submit a sample of his DNA to police for inclusion in a national criminal database and issued a lifetime firearms prohibition.
