Teens involved in fatal Saskatoon street robbery remain in custody after review (2024)

Two of five Saskatoon teenagers sentenced in connection with a fatal shooting in the city’s Pleasant Hill neighbourhood will continue serving the custodial portion of their youth sentences for manslaughter after a mandatory sentencing review determined they are not ready to be released.

The teens were 15 and 16 years old when they helped rob Shedane Favel in a 20th Street West alley between Avenue P and Avenue O South before another teen shot him in the chest around 6:35 a.m. on April 24, 2022.

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Favel, 27, was able to wave down police, but died six hours later in hospital, according to an agreed statement of facts read out at the teens’ sentencing hearings in May 2023.

The older teen received 20 months in secure custody, while the younger received 15 months. Neither can be identified under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

The YCJA also states that any offender who receives a custodial (jail) youth sentence exceeding a year is entitled to an annual sentencing review to determine if the level of custody should change or be converted into community supervision.

Most youth sentences for serious offences are comprised of closed custody (jail), open custody and community supervision.

Crown prosecutor Jaimie MacLean and legal aid lawyer Sarah Longinotti jointly recommended that no changes be made to either teen’s sentence. Progress reports spoken to in court state both are still considered a high risk to reoffend and have offended while in custody.

Court heard the 15-year-old agreed he should stay in jail.

“It’s clear to me that you still have some work to do,” Justice Daryl Labach said, reconfirming their sentences during Monday’s review at Saskatoon Court of King’s Bench.

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Video surveillance obtained from Westside Clinic and Prairie Harm Reduction showed one of the teens, who was 13 at the time, fire at Favel as he ran northbound from the alley behind the buildings.

Another teen said the young shooter was “trigger happy” and had shot at another man while stealing his bike five minutes before shooting Favel.

Court heard the 16-year-old was arrested two hours later with a red gun in his waistband. He told police that he was the only person in the group who knew Favel. He said he bear maced him and stole his backpack. MacLean said one of the boys told police he thought Favel had something of his.

The 15-year-old was identified from surveillance video and arrested two days after the shooting.

All five youth were originally charged with second-degree murder. Three of them were sentenced in December 2022.

A 14-year-old received a 15-month custodial sentence for robbery (in addition to almost eight months on remand) while another 14-year-old was sentenced to two and a half years after pleading guilty to manslaughter.

The 13-year-old shooter was sentenced to five and a half years after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.

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The teens are serving their sentences in the Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision (IRCS) program — a specialized youth sentence, comprised of both jail time and community supervision, for young people with mental health disorders who commit violent crimes.

Labach said the 16-year-old’s custodial sentence ends in January 2025. After that, he will be supervised in the community under certain conditions, which must be set 30 days before his release.

The 15-year-old is to be released from custody in August. He will be supervised in the community for 10 months.

Both teens can bring an optional sentencing review forward at any time after the annual review.

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