Killer gets 11-year sentence for fatal shooting of SAIT basketball player
CBC
The Calgary man who fatally shot a SAIT basketball star was handed an 11-year sentence Friday after pleading guilty to manslaughter earlier this year.
John Mitchell Smith Jr., 31, died defending his girlfriend and her friend from the unwanted advances and physical contact by Michael Martinez, 37.
"There is no excuse for bringing a firearm to public places," said Justice Willie deWit in handing down the sentence.
"If you are that afraid, stay home. This can only lead to tragedy, as it did in this case."
Prosecutor Margot Engley asked the judge to impose a 14- to 16-year sentence, while the defence lawyer argued an eight- to 12-year prison term would be appropriate.
On Oct. 10, 2021, around 2:30 a.m., Smith, his girlfriend Michaela Allen-Gullion and her friend left a nightclub in downtown Calgary.
Nearby, Martinez was with friends, "looking to pick up women as they left the bar," according to an agreed statement of facts (ASF) presented as part of the killer's plea in April.
Martinez approached Allen-Gullion, put his arm around her, and when she rejected his advances, he grabbed her arm, according to the ASF.
That action caused Smith to punch Martinez in the face.
Martinez then pulled out a gun and shot Smith twice.
Growing up, Smith's home included two sisters and his mother.
Cylon Bates says she taught her son to stand up for and protect women.
In a victim impact statement read aloud in court on Wednesday, Allen-Gullion wrote that she held Smith in her arms and watched him take his last breath.
"I will never be the same without John, the man I thought was going to be the father of my children," said Allen-Gullion.
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