An Indo-Canadian man was sentenced to three years jail after pleading guilty of manslaughter as an accessory to murder of a Surrey man. Jagpal Singh Hothi, 24, has been sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter related to the 2019 stabbing of Andrew Baldwin in Whalley. Meantime, also on Sept. 7 Devlin sentenced Jasman Singh Basran, 24, of Surrey to 18 months of house arrest after he pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing justice related to the Baldwin case.
By DESIBUZZCanada Staff With News Files
SURREY – An Indo-Canadian man was sentenced to three years jail after pleading guilty of manslaughter as an accessory to murder of a Surrey man.
Jagpal Singh Hothi, 24, has been sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter related to the 2019 stabbing of Andrew Baldwin in Whalley.
Justice Martha Devlin in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster sentenced Hothi to 1,095 days in prison but after factoring in credit for time served, his sentence is actually 990 days, or two years, eight months and 17 days.
“I have determined that you are entitled to credit for 70 days in custody. A rate of 1.5:1 yields a total credit of 105 days,” Devlin told Hothi on Sept. 7.
Baldwin was stabbed in the heart on Nov. 11, 2019 by Jordan Bottomley, Hothi’s associate in the drug trade.
Hothi was originally charged with the first-degree murder along with Bottomley, 29. Both Hothi and Bottomley pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
On March 25, the Crown agreed to a plea to the lesser included offence of manslaughter and argued for a sentence of six years in Hothi’s case while the defence sought two years less a day of house arrest.
Jordan Bottomley was originally charged with first-degree murder for stabbing Andrew Baldwin to death, but later pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
In reasons for sentencing, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Martha Devlin found that the two men were former roommates and associates in the drug trafficking world, and that Baldwin had been killed over a drug debt to a man higher up in their organization.
According to the judgment published Tuesday, Hothi — who was also involved in the drug organization — arranged the ride to the crime scene and accompanied Bottomley, but waited outside the home.
While sentencing Hothi, the judge noted, “It is because of his awareness of the routine violence of this trade that he became wilfully blind as to what Mr. Bottomley intended to do at the scene of the homicide.”
She added he “actively took steps to conceal or discard evidence of that confrontation.” The judge did accept, however, that Hothi did not know Baldwin would be killed, reported Surrey Leader-Now.
”In terms of the mitigating factors,” Devlin stated in her reasons for sentence, “I have considered Mr. Hothi’s guilty plea, which indicates his acceptance of responsibility for his actions. Mr. Hothi’s guilty plea is a genuine demonstration of remorse and a positive step towards rehabilitation.”
“Balancing all of the relevant factors, I am of the view that a sentence of imprisonment is proportionate, fit, and proper in the circumstances. The sentence I will impose, among other things, serves to denounce Mr. Hothi’s conduct and deter him and other like-minded individuals from engaging in this type of behaviour.”
Meantime, also on Sept. 7 Devlin sentenced Jasman Singh Basran, 24, of Surrey to 18 months of house arrest after he pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing justice related to the Baldwin case.
The Crown proposed a jail term of 18 months while the defence argued for 15 months of house arrest.
“In my view, he poses little risk of re-offending,” Devlin stated in her reasons for sentence. “The aggravating fact in this case is that Mr. Basran’s actions resulted in destruction of evidence related to a very serious crime. It should have been obvious to Mr. Basran that the blood in his truck was evidence of some sort of altercation.”
“Mr. Basran’s involvement in the circumstances of the offence was unplanned,” she found.
“I accept that the seemingly benign act of giving a ride to his friend, Mr. Hothi, suddenly turned into involvement in an extremely serious matter,” reported Surrey Leader-Now.
