Three men who stormed into a Saskatoon home to steal drugs and money face a significant prison term for the home invasion, which ended with a man being shot and killed.
Corey Favel, 25, was one of four men who broke into the home on Garrison Crescent in the Grosvenor Park neighbourhood on Oct. 14, 2015. Favel was shot by someone who was inside the house; that person is not facing charges.
According to an agreed statement of facts, another man, Dustin Trevor Sand, arranged the robbery. Crown prosecutor Rochelle Wempe said the man had sold drugs with the woman renting the home and knew there was a gun in the house. Sand is still before the court, charged with manslaughter.
Court heard Favel and his 23-year-old brother Cody, along with Nathaniel Taylor Narula, 23, and Nicholas Francis MacLeod, 20, broke into the house in the middle of the afternoon wearing face masks and carrying an assortment of weapons. Cody sprayed residents with bear spray while Favel, machete in hand, was shot on his way upstairs to get the money and drugs.
MacLeod tried dragging Favel out of the house before running away with Narula and Cody, leaving Favel behind. An autopsy determined he died from a gunshot wound to the trunk of his body.
Narula and Cody pleaded guilty to breaking and entering, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and wearing a face mask during the commission of an offence. Narula, who had a shotgun during the invasion, pleaded guilty to an additional firearm charge. Both men received a seven-year global sentence after Judge Violet Meekma accepted a joint submission from the Crown and defence.
MacLeod’s lawyer, Ammy Murray, argued her client should get just under a three-year sentence for the face mask and break and enter charges because of his less-significant criminal record and limited involvement in the offence. Meekma disagreed, sentencing him to seven years as well.
The fact that the deceased in this case was invading the home should not lessen the sentence, Wempe argued. Pat Tondevold, Cody’s lawyer, noted how tragic the situation is for her client’s mother, who lost one son to a gunshot and now the other to prison.
Corey Favel, 25, in a photo taken from his Facebook page. He was killed during a home invasion.
Favel, MacLeod and Narula were members of the Saskatchewan Warriors street gang, Wempe said. Narula’s lawyer, Chris Lavier, said his client has distanced himself from gangs and wants to attend trade school once he leaves prison. MacLeod has been going to church while in custody and has connected with STR8 UP, an organization that helps people leave gangs, his lawyer said.
In presenting the joint submission, Wempe stressed the sentence needs to send a message that “drug rips” will not be tolerated in Saskatchewan.
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