Brandon Phillips will not be eligible to apply for parole until he serves 12 years of his life sentence, Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court Justice Valerie Marshall ruled Wednesday.
Phillips, 29, was convicted by a jury on Dec. 8, 2017 of second-degree murder in the Oct. 3, 2015 shooting death of Larry Wellman at the Captain’s Quarters Hotel in St. John’s.
Second-degree murder carries a life sentence, but parole eligibility can range from a minimum of 10 years served to 25 years.
The Crown in the case suggested 15 years should be the mark before which Phillips could apply for parole. The defence argued it is a case where the minimum period of 10 years is sufficient.
A poll of jurors on the issue resulted in 11 out of 12 jury members offering recommendations: seven jurors suggested 10 years, three jurors suggested 15 years and one juror suggested 18 years.
Marshall said the recommendations were just one of many factors she had to consider when deciding the appropriate number of years Phillips should serve before being eligible to apply for parole.
Mitigating factors she had to consider included Phillips’ limited criminal record with no evidence of violence in the past, his drug addiction, and the fact he is still young, with evidence suggesting his prospects for rehabilitation are good.
On the other hand, the aggravating factors to consider, she noted, were significant.
“The primary aggravating factor is that the offence of murder was committed while committing other crimes, including the use of a prohibited weapon in an armed robbery while masked,” Marshall said. “A further aggravating factor was the conduct of the offender walking past Mr. Wellman, who lay bleeding on the floor, then proceeding to continue to demand and look for money prior to his leaving the scene.
“Another aggravating factor was that the murder was committed in front of other innocent bystanders. I’ve also considered the gravity of the offence, the degree of responsibility, the significance of the victim impact and that Mr. Phillips has not expressed remorse.”
The 12-year period Marshall imposed starts from the time Phillips was arrested and taken into custody. He also has to provide a DNA sample and is banned from owning or possessing a firearm for life.
Phillips entered the bar at the Captain’s Quarters Hotel the night of Oct. 3, 2015 wearing a mask and armed with a loaded, sawed-off shotgun. He demanded money from the bartender, but soon turned his attention to Wellman, who had attempted to intervene in the robbery, asking Phillips why he was pointing a gun at a woman.
An altercation occurred in which Phillips threatened to shoot Wellman and subsequently did, hitting him in the femoral artery. Wellman died hours later in hospital.
Wellman, 63, a husband, father and grandfather, was a former firefighter, lover of the outdoors, traveller and artist. He had been visiting St. John’s from Goose Bay, and he and his wife, Linda McBay, had gone to the bar that night to socialize.
During the trial last fall, the jury saw chilling video footage of the shooting as captured by the hotel’s surveillance cameras.
In victim impact statements read by family members, Wellman was referred to as a hero. McBay and her son and daughter told of how the murder of Wellman had devastated their family and Wellman’s grandchildren.
McBay also noted she would attend all of Phillips’ future parole board hearings.
