Man gets 9 years for bus shelter shooting

A man who shot a total stranger in broad daylight inside a bus shelter at a busy downtown Winnipeg shopping mall has been sentenced to spend nine years in prison.

John William Nault, 31, pleaded guilty Tuesday to a single count of discharging a restricted firearm with intent to wound. The charge carries with it a mandatory five-year prison term upon conviction.

Nault's guilty plea comes one day after a three-week-long attempted murder trial was slated to start. His admitting to a lesser charge came after a plea deal was reached between the Crown and his lawyer.

Court heard there were problems with the case that may have resulted in an acquittal had it gone to trial.

Nault admitted to using a high-powered handgun to shoot a 29-year-old man in the abdomen at close range inside the Winnipeg Transit shelter at the Portage Place Shopping centre on Nov. 28, 2008.

The shooting, which took place over the lunch-hour, became a public spectacle in an area of the city often criticized at the time for high rates of crime and drug-dealing.

Nault was given double-time credit of 44 months for the time he's spent on remand waiting to deal with his case. He will have to serve an additional five years and three months.

Police surprised victim survived

Different motives for the shooting were presented Tuesday to Court of Queen's Bench Justice Lori Spivak.

'I think the time has come to protect the community from Mr. Nault.' —Crown attorney Christina Kopynsky

Crown attorney Christina Kopynsky said the victim had gone to the mall to meet up with his girlfriend who worked there at the time.

He was approached by Nault and asked him if he wanted to buy marijuana.

When the victim declined, Nault asked him to go for a walk, Spivak heard.

When the victim refused, Nault followed him into the bus shelter and shot him once in the abdomen after a "short verbal exchange," Kopynsky said.

The bullet went through his abdomen on the left hand side and then exited through his right thigh. Given that the .45-calibre weapon was so powerful, police weapons experts were surprised the victim survived, said Kopynsky. The weapon was never recovered.

Nault fled the scene and wasn't arrested until Dec. 11. In the days after the shooting, police notified the public that he was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant in connection to the crime.

The victim – who prior to the incident had never met Nault – underwent emergency surgery but was out of hospital after a few days, Kopynsky said.

"Thankfully, lucky for everyone involved, nothing vital was hit," she told Spivak.

Other than some scarring and "occasional discomfort," the victim has fully recovered, she said.

Shooting was part of turf war: defence

Nault's lawyer, Martin Glazer, said Nault suspected the victim was dealing drugs in an area he considered his own.

The lifestyles of both the victim and Nault "collided," Glazer said. Nault saw the victim dealing on "his turf and he confronted him, he told him to leave or he'd shoot him," Glazer said.

Nault never intended to kill anyone, he said.

"His intent was to wound the victim and get him to stop drug dealing at this location, to ward off his competition," Glazer said.

Court heard the victim was serving a conditional sentence for drug-offences at the time he was shot.

As for Nault, he was on his way to meet his parole officer when he opened fire.

"He was doing well on parole except for this incident," Glazer said.

Kopynsky said this would be Nault's fourth federal prison term.

"I think the time has come to protect the community from Mr. Nault," she told Spivak.

Offered a chance to speak, Nault only said he agreed with what Glazer said on his behalf.

In addition to the prison time, he must also submit a sample of his DNA for a federal crime-fighting databank. He's also banned from possessing any weapons for a period of 10 years.