Accused in manslaughter case sentenced to 21 days on unrelated charge

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on July 20, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

The lawyer for a 45-year-old man charged with manslaughter was in Lethbridge provincial court Tuesday to represent her client on an unrelated charge.

Lethbridge lawyer Tracy Hembroff represents Sheldon Nicholas LePage, and the appearance was in regards to a breach of probation charge from January 2022. LePage appeared via CCTV while his lawyer offered a guilty plea to the court on his behalf.

Crown Prosecutor Adam Zelmer said the charge in question stemmed from a reporting requirement flowing from a probation order made by Judge Paul Pharo on Oct. 19, 2021.

“Part of that probation order contemplated effectively attending for a reporting requirement within two days of his release and then there were attendance for treatment and counselling as directed thereafter,” said Zelmer.

He added that the allegation is that LePage did not comply with the probation order and never attended for the reporting.

A joint submission was presented to Judge Erin Olsen for a sentence of 21 days of imprisonment, which Zelmer noted to be right in the middle of what LePage has acquired on previous convictions for similar offences, but also recognizes the significant mitigating factor of a guilty plea in this case, as well as LePage’s personal challenges and personal circumstances.

Judge Olsen accepted the joint submission and said it was appropriate.

“Twenty-one days is your sentence. You have been in custody already, so we’ll use 14 of your actual days in custody and give you one and a half days credit for each of those, which is seven additional days, meaning you have served all 21 days of your sentence,” said Olsen to LePage.

LePage has been in custody for two months for a manslaughter charge that stems from an incident at about 8:30 p.m. on May 5 of this year when the victim was approached by a man near the intersection of 8 Street and 2 Avenue North.
During an argument, the man struck 44-year-old Amber Bahadur Khadka, knocking him down and causing him to strike his head on the ground. The assailant left the area but was found by police and arrested later in the day.
Police said the two men knew each other and the altercation was targeted at the victim. An autopsy May 9 confirmed the cause of death was homicide.

-with files from Delon Shurtz

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