A 72-year-old Oro-Medonte Township man has been sentenced to six years in prison, minus a year for time served before sentencing, in the fatal shooting of a man he considered a close nephew.
Peter Vanderveen had earlier pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the Jan. 30, 2019 shooting of 34-year-old Lee William Lackey at Vanderveen’s longtime home in the village of Jarratt.
Lackey, who was shot in the head, was taken off life support three days later.
“This is a case of someone who not only should have known better, but did know better,” Justice Michelle Fuerst said Tuesday at Vanderveen’s sentencing regarding his handling of the gun leading to its “inadvertent discharge (that) resulted in tragic consequences.”
The judge accepted the joint submission the Crown and defence lawyers made on sentencing.
Were it not for his age and character, supported by several letters presented to the court, Fuerst said Vanderveen would have faced a longer sentence.
Court heard that Vanderveen, an experienced hunter, had been friends with Lackey’s mother years earlier and had acted like an uncle to him, even after her 2013 death.
But Lackey, who lived a transient lifestyle in Barrie, had a substance abuse problem and had trouble with the law. He used Vanderveen’s home as his mailing address and his occasional 'crash pad', resulting in what the judge described as a growing tension.
Vanderveen wasn’t happy with the situation and had earlier stressed to the younger man that he couldn’t just show up unannounced. He even called the taxi company Lackey used to advise them not to bring him to his house.
But on Jan. 30, 2019, Lackey found someone in Orillia to drive him to Jarratt and he showed up again unannounced. As he paid the driver from a change jar on the fridge, Vanderveen got his gun and loaded it, intending to stress his point, court heard.
The gun fired as Lackey walked into his kitchen, striking Lackey in the head.
Vanderveen got a tarp, called his brother to tell him he had done something wrong and then called 911.
While the case itself is sad, defence lawyer Bernard Cugelman said justice unfolded as it should have.
Vanderveen was initially charged with first-degree murder, but was eventually released on bail after demonstrating “tremendous support” from the community. The charge was reduced to second-degree murder following a preliminary hearing in which planning and deliberation were ruled out.
“That opened the door to negotiations,” said the defence lawyer.
Vanderveen was one of the few remaining people who would support Lackey, Cugelman said, but his patience had worn thin as Lackey continued to show up unannounced. The gun was meant as a demonstration of seriousness, but it went off in what Cugelman described as an accident with no intent.
“He’s going to live with that for the rest of his life,” he said.
