Fort McMurray man sentenced to 5.5 years in prison for deadly puppy heist
A Fort McMurray man has been sentenced to five and a half years behind bars after a puppy robbery turned deadly.
Nathan Gordey pleaded guilty to charges of forcible confinement with a firearm, and breaking and entering on June 23.
The charges stem from an incident last year where Gordey and two other men attempted to steal dogs from a home in Fort McMurray. One of the men with Gordey, Brandon Stevens, was killed in the incident.
Gordey has been in custody for 412 days and was given an additional 112 days for time served during the pandemic, during a Fort McMurray Court of Queen's Bench sentencing on Friday.
With credit for time served, Gordey has three and a half years left to serve.
Justice David Gates said he recognized that being in the Edmonton Remand Centre during the pandemic, and the subsequent health precautions associated, have led to "significant mitigating circumstances."
Gates did not give his full reasoning for the decision and the written decision has not yet been filed.
Puppy robbery
In April 2019, Stevens, Gordey and Brent Goodridge broke into the home of John Vlanich.
Stevens told Gordey and Goodridge that he wanted to rescue 10 puppies that were being abused from the home, according to the agreed statement of facts.
Court documents say Stevens held "personal animosity" toward Vlanich because of a conflict with an ex-girlfriend.
The three had multiple weapons, including a loaded pistol-gripped 12-gauge shotgun, possibly a machete and a baton, according to the agreed statement of facts.
Stevens kicked in the door to Vlanich's house at about 10:15 p.m. and the men entered the home and forced two residents into a bathroom. The men threatened to shoot the pair if they didn't comply.
Gordey and Goodridge put the puppies in a laundry basket.
According to the agreed statement of facts, Vlanich said he was upstairs when the men broke in. He heard the ruckus and went to his gun safe to retrieve and load his carbine.
Vlanich ran outside, fired two shots in the air to alert police and ran back in the house.
He then went back into the home and hid in a closet across from his bedroom.
When he looked out of the closet when he heard two men enter his bedroom.
Vlanich said that's when Stevens pointed a pistol at him, according to court documents.
"Vlanich had now turned on a high power 'strobe light' affixed to his carbine that pulsed intensely bright light," the agreed statement of facts says.
Vlanich started shouting at the intruders to leave and fired two rounds "in the direction of Stevens."
Vlanich moved to a different spot in the house and then could hear one of the intruders saying, "Brandon, Brandon get up."
The two remaining intruders left with the basket of puppies. Stevens died from multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen.
'No way to spend your life'
During sentencing, Justice gates told Gordey, "I hope you have learned a valuable lesson from this experience.
"This is no way to spend your life."
Gates said Gordey needs to use his time in custody to finish his education and leave this experience behind him.
During the sentencing, Gordey appeared via video from the Edmonton Remand Centre. He expressed remorse for his part in the incident.
"I extremely regret what happened that night," said Gordey.
