Neither of the two pulled the trigger, but a St. John’s couple played a big role in a barbarous scheme that saw a man shot in a downtown apartment last year, a Crown prosecutor says.
“They could’ve withdrawn themselves from what was happening, but they did not,” Nicole Hurley said Monday at provincial court during the sentencing hearing for Harold Noftall and his common-law wife, Mabel Stanley.
For their responsibility in such “a violent act,” Hurley said Noftall should be sentenced to a jail term between five and seven years, while Stanley should get four to six years.
Noftall, 55, and Stanley, 42, both pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, forcible confinement and public mischief. Noftall also pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited weapon and breaching probation.
The shooting happened Jan. 30, 2017, in one of three apartments at 74 Springdale St.
According to the agreed statement of facts, a teenage boy — who can’t be named because he’s a youth — was the shooter and the main player in a scheme that had a 21-year-old victim lured to the apartment.
In his recent court case, the teen admitted the shooting stemmed from jealousy, after the victim sent sexual texts to his girlfriend, Rebecca Murphy. The plan was to restrain the man and give him “a shit-kicking,” not to kill him, the teen had said.
Noftall and Stanley, who lived in the apartment next to the teen and his girlfriend, took part in confining and assaulting the man. Noftall had a pellet gun and ordered the man to sit in a chair in the bedroom, where he was to be wrapped in Saran wrap. A sheet was placed under the chair in case there was blood.
At 11:30 a.m., a 911 call from the man’s cellphone was traced to the apartment. The caller seemed in distress. When officers arrived, Noftall and Stanley denied anything was going on and said things were fine. They had told the man that he would be seriously hurt if he said anything.
The officers left.
While being brutally beaten, the victim tried to escape, but the teen shot him in the buttocks with a sawed-off shotgun.
Stanley then called an ambulance and cleaned up the blood. Officers returned minutes later and saw the man bleeding on the floor.
Stanley told officers the man was the victim of a drive-by shooting. However, physicians at the hospital who treated the man indicated his wounds were not consistent with a drive-by shooting and that he had been shot at close range.
The victim underwent surgery to repair a shattered femur and to remove eight fragments of shotgun pellets from his body. He spent 10 days in hospital and required home treatment for several weeks.
In September 2017, the teen pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, unlawful confinement, pointing a firearm and unauthorized use of a firearm in connection with the incident and was given a youth sentence of less than two years.
Stanley’s lawyer, Marcus Evans, told Judge Mike Madden that his client’s level of responsibility was less than Noftall’s and the teen’s.
“For that reason, I think you should go easy on her,” Evans said.
“Although she provided false information to police, it was Ms. Stanley who called an ambulance. It’s not heroic by any means, but it’s very possible (the victim) could’ve bled to death if she hadn’t.”
Noftall’s lawyer, Arnold Hussey, will present his submissions when the sentencing hearing continues Friday morning.
Murphy, 21, was also charged following the incident. She pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, public mischief and attempting to obstruct justice.
She will be back in court April 9 for a sentencing hearing.
Noftall, Stanley, the teen and Murphy had all initially been charged with attempted murder, but that charge was withdrawn by the Crown in exchange for the guilty pleas to lesser charges.
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