Convicted killer Philip Pynn released from federal prison

CBC News has learned convicted killer Philip Pynn has been released from federal prison, even though a parole board evaluation found that he is at high risk to re-offend.

He has been transferred to a halfway house in Nova Scotia, where he will remain under strict conditions.

In 2015, Pynn was sentenced to 8.5 years in prison for the 2011 shooting death of his best friend Nick Winsor, at a house on Portugal Cove Road in St. John's.

He was given four years' credit for the time he had already served awaiting trial.

Pynn, who was serving his sentence at Atlantic Institution in Renous, had originally been scheduled for release in July. However, he was charged for a jailhouse assault.

The Parole Board of Canada considers Pynn a gang founder, listing him as having a high risk to reoffend, with a propensity for violence, troublesome associates and an attitude "requiring a high need for improvement."

In a decision dated July 13, 2018, the board laid out Pynn's conditions for his eventual release: no drugs or alcohol, no contact with anyone involved in criminal activity, and no privileges to be unsupervised at night.

Read more articles from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador