Men sentenced for shotgun home invasion that injured B.C. couple

The City of Vernon, B.C., is seen in this image from its website. (vernon.ca)

Two men have been sentenced to more than a decade behind bars for their roles in a violent home invasion that left a rural British Columbia couple suffering from shotgun wounds in 2019.

Edward Scott Coghill and Stewart Wayne Tkachuk donned masks and armed themselves with weapons and zip-tie restraints before breaking into the Lumby-area home in what the sentencing judge described last week as a crime motivated by greed.

James Jurica and Candice Kado were lying awake in their bed when the assailants shot out the lights and entered the bedroom, B.C. Supreme Court Justice John Gibb-Carsley wrote in his sentencing decision.

The couple fought back; Jurica suffered wounds from shotgun pellets in his chest, stomach and hip, while Kado struck Coghill in the head with a baseball bat.

The two assailants briefly retreated to reload their shotguns before firing again, striking Kado in the chin with at least one pellet, the court heard.

“Mr. Jurica, realizing that the intruders had reloaded, determined it best to no longer resist,” the judge wrote. “The intruders proceeded to beat Mr. Jurica with a metal baton or baseball bat, causing significant wounds to his head and hand.”

With the residents subdued, the two men went on to ransack the house, eventually forcing Kado into the basement at gunpoint to open a safe.

For more than 45 minutes, the men stole cash, jewelry, bicycles and a television, before leaving the home in Jurica’s Dodge Ram pickup truck, the court heard.

With the attackers gone, Kado broke free of her zip-tie restraints and then freed Jurica, whom she drove to the hospital in nearby Vernon, where both were treated for their wounds.

Police would find Jurica’s truck abandoned around 5 a.m. that day, Sept. 18, 2019.

Evidence soon pointed to Coghill and Tkachuk as suspects, with investigators uncovering “communications” between the two men “that showed planning and deliberation were involved in the home invasion,” the judge wrote.

‘Like I died that day’

In a victim impact statement provided to the court, Jurica wrote that his physical wounds have not yet healed, more than five years after the attack.

“He has constant burning in his chest from the nerve damage caused by being shot,” the judge said, summarizing the letter at the sentencing hearing.

“The wounds to his legs have not healed and he has developed blood clots. This prevents him from flying which keeps him from family and a home he has overseas.”

Jurica’s letter described how he has been unable to work since the attack, relying on disability benefits as he copes with the psychological trauma of the event.

“He says his relationship with Ms. Kado, his romantic partner at that time, could not survive the crime,” the judge summarized. “He had to leave the house he had called his dream house because of the thoughts of the home invasion.”

In his own words, Jurica wrote: “I have lost so much – my sense of self, my dreams, my partner, my life as I knew and hoped it to be. I feel like I died that day.”

While Kado did not submit a victim impact statement to the court, the judge wrote that his own observations during the trial left him satisfied the home invasion had a profound impact on both victims.

“I expect that there was no certainty in the minds of Mr. Jurica or Ms. Kado whether they would survive that evening,” the judge wrote.

“They were attacked at night, in what should be the safest of spaces for a person – in bed in the bedroom of their home. They were physically assaulted and threatened with serious harm. I expect that the impacts of these offences will linger for years if not forever.”

Coghill, who is now 50 years old, was heavily addicted to opioids at the time of the home invasion, the result of escalating drug use that began when his former spouse took a fatal overdose of fentanyl, according to his lawyer.

Coghill has prior convictions for uttering threats and failing to appear in court, as well as a conviction for assault causing bodily harm after he stabbed a man at a Vernon gas station six months after the home invasion.

Tkachuk, now 53 years old, also has a history of substance abuse, as well as a criminal record that includes six convictions for theft, three convictions for breaking and entering, two convictions of assault causing bodily harm and one conviction for robbery, among others.

‘Heroic’ victims

Kado testified at trial that Coghill was the “meaner” of the two offenders on the night of the break-in, while Tkachuk was “nicer,” the judge noted.

“Ms. Kado testified that while being guarded by Mr. Tkachuk, she was able to obtain towels and a drink for Mr. Jurica to assist Mr. Jurica when he was injured during the home invasion,” the judge wrote, weighing aggravating and mitigating factors for the defendants.

“Ms. Kado testified that Mr. Tkachuk generally spoke kindly to her during the home invasion. Further, I conclude that it was Mr. Coghill who ransacked the home and took Ms. Kado by gunpoint down to the safe and Mr. Tkachuk did not.”

Kado said she believed Tkachuk tied her hands loosely in the restraints so she could escape once the intruders had left.

“In my view, if Mr. Tkachuk had tied Ms. Kado’s hands such that she had difficulty escaping, Mr. Jurica may not have received medical treatment in as timely a fashion and could have had a worse outcome,” the judge wrote.

“In this regard, I find that Mr. Tkachuk’s actions on the evening are less aggravating and less morally blameworthy than the actions of Mr. Coghill.”

Considering those factors, the judge sentenced Coghill to 11 years in prison, less 240 days for time already served in pretrial custody.

Tkachuk, who was convicted of the additional crime of possessing a firearm while prohibited, was sentenced to 12 years in prison, less 450 days for time already served.

“During the home invasion, Ms. Kado, in my view, acted in a manner that was nothing short of heroic,” the judge told the court at the conclusion of the sentencing hearing.

“She defied her captors’ orders to not move in order to tend to the wounds of a very injured, Mr. Jurica, by getting him towels and something to drink. Her bravery in the face of the home invasion, is remarkable.”

Turning to Jurica’s actions during the ordeal, the judge said he “also exhibited great courage in the face of adversity” and commended him for his bravery.

“When the offenders stormed the house, Mr. Jurica attempted to defend himself, Ms. Kado, and his home by rushing at the offenders despite them firing shotguns at him,” the judge noted.

“He attempted to fight and resist Mr. Coghill and Mr. Tkachuk, despite being outnumbered and demonstrated bravery in what must have been terrifying circumstances.”