Kyle Capone Louie was sentenced Thursday to 75 months in jail for the manslaughter death of his brother in 2011.
Justice Austin Cullen agreed in B.C. Supreme Court in Penticton to the jail sentence, plus a 5.5-year long-term offender designation that will allow close monitoring of Louie once he’s released back into the community.
Family members declined comment after the hearing. Louie did not speak in court when given a chance to do so.
Louie received credit fro 69 months’ in prison, leaving just six to go on his sentence.
More to come.
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Posted: January 21, 2014
A drunken argument between brothers over a $30 debt sparked a fight that resulted in a fatal stabbing four years ago near Oliver, a judge heard Wednesday at the sentencing hearing for Kyle Capone Louie.
The 26-year-old was charged with the second-degree murder of his then-21-year-old brother, Reece Dillenger Louie, on Feb. 19, 2011, but pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter.
Crown counsel John Swanson told the sentencing hearing in B.C. Supreme Court in Penticton he’s seeking a jail term of 75 months for Kyle, who’s been in custody since his arrest the day of the killing.
With enhanced credit for 46 months’ time served, that would leave just six months to go, followed by a 5.5-year long-term offender designation that would allow for close monitoring of Kyle in the community.
The sentencing proposal is a joint submission of Crown and defence.
Reading from an agreed statement of facts, Swanson said the Louie brothers were drinking at the gravel pit where they worked just hours before the killing and got into a fist fight after Kyle accused Reece of owing Kyle’s girlfriend $30.
Both were fired on the spot and went to their home on Black Sage Road, where the fight continued, despite efforts by their father, Clifford, to intervene.
Tensions escalated and Kyle began swinging a knife at Clifford and Reece, prompting Reece to run to his bedroom and Clifford to leave the house.
Clifford later told police he watched from across the street as Reece staggered out of the house and fell down on the driveway around 3 p.m.
Reece died later that night in hospital as a result of his injuries, which included multiple stab wounds to his torso.
Kyle told police he didn’t remember anything that happened after the incident at the gravel pit, because he had blacked out from drinking.
Swanson said the brothers were “generally quite close,” but their fights could become “quite physical” if one of them was drinking.
A psychologist who prepared a pre-sentence report on Kyle determined he’s a high risk to reoffend violently, Swanson said, but has “reasonable” prospects for rehabilitation, thanks in part to support from his family and the Osoyoos Indian Band, of which he is a member.
Defence counsel Tom Arbogast noted the difficult upbringing Kyle experienced due to the “intergenerational legacy” residential schools left within the aboriginal community.
He also said his client had a “massive amount” of alcohol in his system at the time of the offence, but has committed to attending a series of residential treatment facilities once released from jail to help ease his transition back into society.
Arbogast pointed out Kyle has “exhausted” all education opportunities, including completion of Grade 12 and anger management courses, available to him within the provincial jail system, which demonstrates motivation and focus.
“It shows that he didn’t sit back and wallow in a way that could have been expected,” said Arbogast.
Justice Austin Cullen is set to hand down his decision Thursday morning.
Kyle, wearing a white dress shirt and black slacks, smiled and waved from the prisoner’s dock at what appeared to be at least a dozen supporters in the courtroom Wednesday.
