Man who pleaded guilty in 2022 death in Hay River, N.W.T., sentenced to 12 years
CBC
A man who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of a 24-year-old in Hay River was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Thursday.
Riley Jordan Moyah, who was 23 at the time of his arrest, was charged with the death of Roland Lamalice in 2022 after his body was found on Lagoon Road in January that year.
A Canada-wide warrant was issued for Moyah and he was later arrested in St. Albert, AB.
During the sentence hearing Wednesday, the Crown and defence gave a joint recommendation of 12 years in prison, a DNA order and a lifetime prohibition on firearms, which Crown prosecutor Blair MacPherson said the judge accepted.
A DNA order and lifetime prohibition on firearms is mandatory for Moyah’s charges.
Moyah’s lawyer, Austin Corbett, said in an interview with CBC News the proposed sentence is “fit and appropriate" given the circumstances.
He said that a sentence in Canada must be proportional. It must balance the gravity of the offence against the moral blameworthiness of the person who committed the crime, including the conduct of the individual and the personal factors that led to the situation.
“The 12-year joint submission here, I think, meets that test perfectly,” Corbett said.
MacPherson agreed that 12 years is a “fit sentence in the circumstances.”
He said Moyah's actions were “callous and inhumane” and “the homicide took place in the context of drug trade, which has been a scourge on the community of Hay River in recent years.”
Along with hearing the Crown and defence's recommendations, the court listened to just over 20 victim impact statements from family and friends of Lamalice, as well as community members.
"[The victim impact statements] laid bare the Lamalice family's sorrow and grief," MacPherson said.
He said the statements also revealed how fed up community members in Hay River are with drug dealers who “bring hard drugs and violence” to the hamlet.
After the victim impact statements were heard, Corbett said an apology from Moyah was read.
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