Darryl Steven Sheepway will not be eligible for parole for 13 years of his life sentence for second-degree murder for killing Christopher Brisson in 2015.

Sheepway, 40, was in Yukon Supreme Court Tuesday afternoon to be sentenced by Justice Leigh Gower.

Sheepway also received a five-year global sentence for eight robberies and one attempted robbery in Ontario.

Gower’s sentence for both second-degree murder and the robberies also included a one-year firearms ban, a lifetime ban on restricted firearms as well as ammunition, and he must submit DNA for a national database.

Sheepway must forfeit the shotgun used in the murder, and he is subject to a $200 victim fine surcharge on each charge. This totals $2,000.

Gower explained his decision to impose 13 years of parole ineligibility. The Crown had argued for 15 years and the defence argued for 10 years, which is the minimum.

Gower listed the factors he found mitigating and what he found aggravating.

Starting with mitigating, he felt the behaviour could be out of Sheepway’s character prior to his being addicted to crack-cocaine. Sheepway was not violent and did not have a lengthy criminal record prior to his arrest.

Gower credited Sheepway for co-operating with the RCMP as they investigated Brisson’s murder.

If Sheepway had not helped, the judge said, there would have been many unknown details remaining. Sheepway also admitted to several facts during the trial, which saved time and resources.

Gower considered that Sheepway comes from a large and loving family. The justice felt the family should be able to help Sheepway overcome his addiction, assist in the rehabilitation and help reintegrate him into society if he is granted parole.

As for remorse, Gower found it both mitigating and troubling at the same time.

He recognized that Sheepway has shown remorse and apologized to Brisson’s family. His concern rests on the fact that Sheepway keeps saying the murder was an accident.

“I am troubled by these statements .... This fatal shooting was no accident,” Gower said.

He reasoned that the way the murder occurred could not have made it an accident. He felt that that continued narrative is an attempt minimize responsibility.

Sheepway stood on the driver’s seat of his truck and fired two shots from his shotgun at the driver’s side of Brisson’s truck, the justice pointed out. He added that the defendant admitted to being proficient with a shotgun.

Gower felt there was an intent to cause harm, and that Sheepway’s actions were reckless. He added that the defendant had to know his actions could cause death.

Moving to the issue of addiction. Gower found this to be a neutral factor, as he did not fault Sheepway for it but would not give him credit for it.

He based this on trial testimony of two psychiatrists and Sheepway himself.

The psychiatrists testified that Sheepway’s dreams are dominated by drugs. Sheepway himself said during the trial that he wanted to go to a federal penitentiary because drugs are readily available there.

Gower also pointed to Sheepway’s frequent use of marijuana. Sheepway hid his marijuana use from his wife and other girlfriends, and has no plans to stop using that drug.

Gower felt that even if Sheepway kicked his cocaine addiction, his dependency to marijuana makes his prospects of rehabilitation unclear.

The defence argued that he would not be a danger to the public because he is willing to get treatment. Gower said that is pure speculation.

“We simply don’t know at this stage,” he said.

Gower next listed aggravating factors. He started by saying that the meeting with the 25-year-old Brisson on Aug. 28, 2015 off of the McLean Lake Road was originally intended as a robbery and was a quickly planned. That said, it was still premeditated.

It was also aggravating that Sheepway used a loaded shotgun.

Sheepway stated that he did not expect resistance, but Gower felt he should have been prepared for the robbery to go sideways considering he pointed a loaded shotgun at someone.

Other aggravating factors considered were the fact that Brisson was unarmed, Sheepway stole both drugs and cash from Brisson as he lay dead and he tried to cover it up.

Sheepway removed shotgun shells from the scene and disposed of them in a garbage can far away from the scene of the crime.

Gower called the disposal of Brisson’s body callous. Moving it caused unusual hardship to the family, he said.

He reasoned that Sheepway would not have known how long the body would go undiscovered when he dumped it down a hill near Miles Canyon.

The justice felt it was only by luck that Brisson’s body was discovered before it either decomposed or was scattered by animals.

“It was only by chance that the body was found four days later by a mushroom picker,” Gower said.

Overall, Gower did not feel the mitigating circumstances outweighed the aggravating circumstances. He said the aggravating factors listed above were sufficient to impose more than 10 years of parole ineligibility.

As for the series of robberies, Gower concluded they had been fuelled by the crack-cocaine addiction.

He said a small amount of money was stolen, and no physical force had been used. If Sheepway goes through a proper rehabilitation, the justice said, that should mitigate his being a future danger.

Gower said it is mitigating that Sheepway admitted to the robberies and immediately waived the charges from Ontario to the Yukon. The justice added that since this was a spree, it was less aggravating.

Sheepway walked into a gas station, convenience store or restaurant wearing a balaclava and carrying a baseball bat. He demanded money.

On one occasion, a clerk resisted and said the police would be called.

Sheepway left immediately. This occurred between Nov. 9 and 25, 2015 in the Brantford area of Ontario.