'Smug looks and smirks': Family pushes for life sentence in Regina manslaughter trial

Sentencing submissions in Devon Cyr’s manslaughter case were presented on Tuesday, with the Crown Prosecutor asking for a life sentence.

A jury found Cyr guilty of manslaughter on Feb. 14 in the death of Isiah Trent Allary, a lesser charge than the original second-degree murder charge.

Sentencing submissions were presented to Justice Richard Elson at the Court of King’s Bench on Tuesday morning, with Crown Prosecutor Derek Davidson, asking for a life sentence.

“Making fun of someone’s nose should not result in you shooting them. And that message needs to be strong—If you do that, you’re looking at a serious jail sentence,” Davidson told the courtroom.

After court, Davidson told the media the Crown believes the aggravating factors are sufficient to ask for the maximum penalty.

“What we were trying to convey is essentially this sentence that Mr. Cyr deserves, in this circumstance, is as close to what you would receive for murder as legal— so in this case, manslaughter carries the maximum of life, the Crown sought life in this case.”

Cyr was also in violation of possessing a firearm in 2019. He was banned from doing so for 10 years, to which he pleaded guilty.

The Crown argued that he also has a prior violent criminal record, which has resulted in incarceration in the past.

Lastly, he argued Cyr discharged the firearm in a residential area, something that is on the rise in Regina.

Davidson said while the charge is down from murder, it’s near murder manslaughter, stating “the accused didn’t think it would cause death, but it did.”

He noted that Cyr’s upbringing and experiences certainly have an impact and could play a part in the decision on sentencing.

“But this is someone who has fairly strong insight to himself.”

He also said Cyr showed no remorse— something Allary’s sister expanded on.

Gracelynn Allary read a victim impact statement to the courtroom, also asking for a life sentence.

“He sentenced our family to a lifetime of heartache. His son and his daughter are sentenced to growing up and living a life without their father,” she read.

She said she fell into drinking heavily for two years to deal with the grief from her brothers’ death.

Choking up, she added she quit drinking to begin her healing, and had even gone as far as to forgive Cyr— until she came to the trial.

“I would cry and beg Creator to give me the strength to forgive him and to forgive myself for carrying so much hate and anger.”

“After coming to the trial and seeing the accused, the way he carried himself through it, with smug looks and smirks, how nonchalant he was, I couldn’t possibly fathom how anybody could be that way in his situation.”

The defence argued the usual— four to 12 years for manslaughter, siding on the extreme end.

Defence lawyer Adam Fritzler recommended 12 years because of the gravity of the offence, and believes that Cyr does need require rehabilitation.

Cyr has been incarcerated since Jan 26 2020, and so the defence asked for 1,213 days to be taken into consideration in regards to time already served. And because he was incarcerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, collateral credit for days served can also be taken into consideration, to which Fritzler asked for 18 months.

He used Cyr’s personal circumstances, his remorse, and the charge of manslaughter as the reason.

“Because he has good prospects for rehabilitation, because he’s interested in engaging in the straight up, because he’s disassociating himself with the gangs, he recognizes substance abuse is a tremendous problem for him.”

Cyr then spoke to the courtroom for the first time, saying he was sorry to the family.

“My intentions weren’t to cause murder. I was high, I was drunk, I was fearful of my own life— I’m very sorry for the way things played out.”

“I did take someone that they love, and I feel very sorry for that, you know? And there’s nothing I can say or do that will make anything right, I just got to accept what happened, it bugs me everyday.”

Due to the backlog of criminal cases, and the understaffing of Judges, Justice Elson pushed sentencing to July 7 at 10 a.m.

The trial, which started Feb. 13, had the Crown charging Cyr with second-degree murder, which the jury did not agree with, as they believed that the mindset required for murder was not present, as explained by the Crown.

The jury found the defendant guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Davidson said that the defence maintained the Crown had not proven the elements for murder.

THE CRIME

According to a statement made by the defence in court on Tuesday, Cyr and three others went to the house of Allary at the 1400 block of Rae Street on Jan. 25, 2020 to retrieve drug paraphernalia and other personal items.

Fritzler said they were high on methamphetamine at the time, as disclosed during the trial. Allary, according to the defence, was three times the blood alcohol limit, when he was walking down Rae Street, visibly upset.

The defence said that a conversation happened between the accused and deceased, prior to Cyr getting in the car to follow Allary.

The victim was then shot, in what the Crown calls a drive-by shooting.

“He was in the back seat passenger position, and asked the driver to follow that guy, then pulled up beside him, and Mr. Cyr discharged a firearm at him,” said Davidson.

Witnesses had different testimonies, which made the charge of second-degree murder questionable.

Previously, there was a publication ban on one of the witnesses, but on Tuesday, Elson lifted the ban, stating there was not sufficient evidence to rise above speculation.

“While one might think it would be a reasonable conclusion that somebody could sustain risk, the reference to could indicates a potential. It does not indicate an actual risk.”

The witness in question is named as Kelly Stonechild.