A teenager who pleaded guilty to manslaughter has received the maximum youth sentence of three years for the killing of Drew Jack on Carry the Kettle Nakoda Nation. The youth, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was charged with manslaughter in the March 21, 2025 killing of Drew Jack. Jack’s cause of death was a gunshot wound to the torso, according to the autopsy report. Justice Catherine Dawson issued the sentence at Court of King’s Bench on Thursday. In addition to the sentence of three years, the teen will undergo “one year of structure” to help him reintegrate back into society safely. “This particular form of this manslaughter is serious. [His] degree of moral responsibility is relatively high as well,” Dawson said in court. “He fired his shot at another person while involved in a physical altercation with that person. Having said that, he acted impulsively. There was no pre-planning.” Although harm was done, the act was not intentional but foreseeable, Dawson added. With credit for a year spent in pre-trial custody, the teenager will serve two years behind bars, followed by one year in secure closed custody, six months of open custody, followed by 180 days of community supervision. He is also prohibited from carrying a firearm for 10 years following the conclusion of his sentence. In her decision, Dawson also took into consideration the teen’s prior criminal offences related to assault, the transportation and possession of firearms and breaking probation orders. She also referenced the teenager’s medical history from a psychology report, stating he was diagnosed with ADHD at an early age and has been prescribed various medications to help treat the condition, among others, since 2014, when delivering the sentence. Although both counsels submitted a joint sentence of three years, they disagreed on how the teen should serve his time. Of the three-year sentence, the Crown requested the teen serve 16 months in closed custody and eight months under community supervision. However, the defence proposed six months in secure custody, 12 months in open custody and the final six months under conditional supervision. Victim impact statements by Jack’s loved ones described him as a kind-hearted man. “Drew [Jack] was a good, kind, decent loving human being. He was a Good Samaritan which was what he was doing on the day he passed,” Dawson read in court on Thursday. She added it is clear the lasting impact Jack’s death has had on people close to him and in the community. More than 20 of Jack’s family members and close friends attended court on Thursday, all wearing shirts honouring his memory. Jack died following an altercation with the offender after he and several adults went looking for a stolen vehicle and a group of youths on the First Nation. When Jack intervened in an argument between a girl and the offender, he was then shot by the offender. The case is not connected to the Feb. 4, 2025 quadruple homicide on Carry the Kettle Nakoda Nation.
