A member of a Saskatoon gang found guilty of second-degree murder will have to wait to find out when she’ll be eligible for parole.
Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench heard sentencing arguments Tuesday for Shaylin Sutherland-Kayseas.
The 20-year-old was a member of the Terror Squad and was found guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death of 26-year-old Dylan Phillips in October 2016.
Justice Shawn Smith adjourned sentencing to Nov. 30, which is when Sutherland-Kayseas will learn when she’s eligible to apply for parole.
Second-degree murder carries a life sentence with no parole eligibility for at least 10 years, which is what the defence argued for.
The Crown argued for no parole for 15 years.
“He was murdered in front of his own mother. I don’t know how much worse it gets than that,” Crown prosecutor Melodi Kujawa told reporters.
The Crown told court Sutherland-Kayseas was “willing to do anything to get away with that murder,” and cited a dangerous police chase as an example.
The Crown said it has yet to see remorse from Sutherland-Kayseas.
“I don’t think it’s fair to say I don’t have remorse, of course I’m sorry,” Sutherland-Kayseas told court.
“This is how I was raised. I was raised not to show my feelings,” she said.
Defence lawyer Jessie Buydens argued the importance of dealing with Sutherland-Kayseas’ “past and her demons.”
Buydens argued she has limited education, she was 18 at the time of the murder, she had a traumatic childhood, experienced sexual abuse, and her parents attended residential schools.
“She had an upbringing that normalized criminal activity,” Buydens said.
“Give her an opportunity to prove herself.”
In October 2016, Sutherland-Kayseas went to a home in the 1400 block of Avenue G North with two other Terror Squad members. The plan was to rob Phillips of drugs and cash. Sutherland-Kayseas brought a loaded sawed-off bolt-action rifle and shot Phillips.
In October 2018, Sutherland-Kayseas was sentenced to nine years in prison for a kidnapping in relation to the murder.
