NEWMARKET, Ont. — A 19-year-old found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of a York Region Police officer will not spend any time in custody.
Justice Alex Sosna says the teen, who was rendered a quadriplegic in a crash that killed Const. Garrett Styles, is already serving a life sentence because he is a prisoner in his own body.
Sosna also found that the teen, who cannot be named, has been rehabilitated.
He sentenced the teen to a conditional supervision order for nine years.
The teen was 15 when he was driving a van — with no licence — which was involved in a crash north of Toronto that killed Styles.
Styles was standing beside a minivan during a traffic stop in East Gwillimbury in June 2011, when police say the vehicle suddenly accelerated and dragged him about 300 metres before losing control and rolling on top of him.
The teen's defence lawyer asked for no time in custody, arguing that the teen's quadriplegic condition as a result of the crash is sentence enough.
The Crown asked for a sentence of five years in "open custody" and four years of community supervision. It recommended a facility in Milton, Ont., which is wheelchair accessible, for the open custody portion of the sentence.
Sosna found that the teen's age at the time of the incident, the lack of a previous record, his reputation as a good student, the unconditional support of his family and the fact that he had been rendered a quadriplegic with injuries described as "catastrophic," were mitigating factors in the case.
