Teen who killed former Hagersville man to receive adult sentence

The Calgary youth who dragged Sgt. Andrew Harnett to his death following a New Year’s Eve traffic stop will be sentenced as an adult, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Court of King’s Bench Justice Anna Loparco agreed with Crown prosecutor Mike Ewenson that the convicted killer, just days shy of his 18th birthday at the time of the crime, was mature enough to face an adult punishment.

Harnett, a member of the Calgary Police Service, grew up in Hagersville.

Defense counsel Zachary Al-Khatib had suggested the offender was immature and should be treated as a youth during sentencing.

Al-Khatib called evidence from a psychologist who found his client was

susceptible to peer pressure.

But Loparco found the offender, who was living on his own at the time, was more adult than child.

“In my view AM was living an adult-type life,” the judge said.

Offender’s identity remains protected

Loparco also found the killer poses a high risk of reoffending and a youth sentence, of a maximum three years, would not protect society.

“AM is a high risk to violently reoffend and cannot be managed with a three-year youth sentence.” Loparco earlier convictions the now-20-year-old of manslaughter in connection with the Dec. 31, 2020 death of Harnett who was dragged nearly a half kilometer along Falconridge Drive. NE before falling from the side of the offender’s vehicle into oncoming traffic.

The then-17-year-old fled a routine traffic stop with two male passengers when Harnett approached to give him a ticket for driving without his headlights on.

The offender, whose identity remains protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act until he receives his adult sentence, had initially been charged with first-degree murder, but Loparco found he didn’t intend the deadly consequence of his conduct.

‘In a relatively short period of time he would be free of any supervision’: judge

Loparco had to consider two issues in determining whether an adult sentence was warranted, had the Crown rebutted the presumption of diminished blameworthiness for young offenders and whether a youth sentence would not be long enough to hold the offender accountable.

She said Ewenson established both those criteria.

“Given the psychological assessment and circumstances of the offense it would be imprudent to conclude that AM will be adequately rehabilitated in a three-year period to the extent that he can be safely returned, without conditions, to society,” Loparco said.

She noted Dr. Ennis found the killer doesn’t think he requires counseling to ensure he can safely be returned to the community.

“The fact that he does not believe that further programming is required makes it less likely that this goal (of rehabilitation) might be achieved.”

Loparco said after a three-year youth term the offender would no longer be under the control of the authorities to ensure he maintains necessary treatment.

“In a relatively short period of time he would be free of any supervision,” she said.

“In my view a maximum youth sentence, even without credit for any pretrial custody, would not be of sufficient length to hold AM accountable for his offending behavior,” the judge said.

“Serious concerns regarding long-term supervision arise from AM’s high-risk status and behavioral history, his criminal antecedence, his deliberate and central role in the death of Sgt. Harnett and his lack of insight.”

Loparco will hear sentencing submissions from Al-Khatib and Ewenson, who previously indicated an 11- to 13-year sentence was warranted, on May 31, before handing down her decision at a later date.

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