Michael Swan's family on tenterhooks as possible stay of manslaughter charge looms

The family of an Ottawa teen shot to death in 2010 say it would be "traumatic" to see a manslaughter conviction overturned due to trial delays — just as sentencing was supposed to happen.

Michael Swan, 19, was killed in the early morning of Feb. 22, 2010, when three armed men broke into his Barrhaven home to rob him.

Three Toronto men were convicted of murder in the case. Sam Tsega, the Ottawa connection who plotted the robbery but was not present during the home invasion, was convicted of manslaughter on June 30, 2016 — more than six years after Swan's death. He has not yet been sentenced.

A few days before the sentencing hearing was supposed to happen, Tsega's lawyer applied to have the manslaughter charge stayed due to the length of time it took to bring the case to trial.

The opportunity for the lawyer to do this was opened up when the Supreme Court of Canada made a landmark ruling that has come to be known as the Jordan decision, which set new deadlines for completing trials. Superior Court cases now have up to 30 months to be completed, from the time the charge is laid to the conclusion of a trial.

Swan's father and brother — Dale Swan and Alex Swan — told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning Thursday they hope the charge isn't stayed.

Listen to the full interview here.

'You think you've seen it all'

"If he does get off, or if the charges are stayed, obviously it would be very devastating because we feel like we're kind of past the point," Alex Swan said.

"He's already been charged, all we're waiting on is the sentencing ... and that is the last step in this entire process. So it would be very, very kind of traumatic to have to deal with that if these proceedings are stayed on that technicality."

Alex Swan said he's read through the Jordan decision and understands its intent, but "can't wrap my head around how they can impose this new ruling ... to cases that are already in the system, to cases that have already been through the process ... and expect resolution with that."

Asked if he could accept it, Dale Swan said he "wouldn't have much choice."

"We hold this individual most accountable for what happened to our son, and to get to this point where he's actually been convicted and found guilty — like Alex said, we were just waiting for a sentence to be imposed — and now we have to sit through another process and hearing, and try to wrap our minds around what they're going to argue to justify his [charge] being stayed.

"It's countless times I've shaken my head at this process. You think you've seen it all and then something else comes around, and this is just another example of what we're up against."