A Saanich resident charged in connection with a 2018 shooting incident north of Courtenay has been given a sentence of almost 10 years in B.C. Supreme Court in Courtenay.
Richard Daniel Vigneault had pleaded guilty to multiple counts on May 11. The charges for which he was sentenced included four break-and-enter counts, discharging a firearm with intent, aggravated assault, two counts related to firearms possession and one for carrying a concealed weapon. There were stays of proceedings on seven other charges.
Crown counsel confirmed the total duration of the sentence was 14 years, though with a credit of four years and nine months for custodial time prior to sentencing, Vigneault’s time to be served amounts to nine years and three months.
Vigneault was 27 and living in Saanich at the time of the arrest in March 2018. His preliminary inquiry followed that October.
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The shooting incident took place in the 2200 block of Coleman Road in the Merville area. Vigneault was charged with 16 offences. He was taken into custody without incident, though police investigators described the situation as a “very stressful 24 hours,” and they thanked people in the area for help providing tips to the police.
“We have to take all the evidence we have from everything that happened up there,” said a Comox Valley RCMP member. “There were a lot of things that were happening and a lot of pieces to the puzzle.”
The Island District Emergency Response Team also helped with the arrest. The victim in the incident had to be flown from the area to be treated for injuries.
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