2 men sent to prison for fatal stabbing of Calgary chef

The two men who killed a beloved Calgary chef have been sent to prison, nearly three years after the victim's violent death.

In March 2020, Tommie Holloway lured Christophe Herblin to a parking lot where Anthony Dodgson stabbed the victim nine times.

Dodgson was convicted of second-degree murder and will serve a life sentence with no chance of parole for 12 years. 

Holloway was handed a seven-year sentence for his manslaughter conviction. With credit for the time he's already served, Holloway has about four-and-a-half years left on his sentence.

"The life of an innocent man was taken for essentially being in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Court of King's Bench Justice Blair Nixon in handing down the sentences for the two men.

• 'I am sorry': Man convicted in stabbing of Calgary chef apologizes at sentencing

Herblin was the Glencoe Golf and Country Club's longtime chef but had left to pursue his dream of owning his own restaurant.

Croque Saveurs was just weeks away from opening when Herblin was killed. 

• Calgary chef murdered when he got in the way of a pot shop robbery, jury hears

​​On March 14, 2020, Dodgson and Holloway broke into Herblin's restaurant, located on Bow Trail, in an effort to get through a wall into Spiritleaf, an adjacent cannabis shop. 

There had been two previous break-ins to Spiritleaf with the thieves getting in through Croque Saveurs. For that reason, Herblin had installed an alarm.

Unknowingly, Holloway and Dodgson triggered that alarm, causing Herblin to leave his home to investigate.

'Alone and in the dark'

The pair got spooked when a car drove by and left the area. 

Herblin showed up at the scene and went inside his business to examine the damage. Around the same time Dodgson and Holloway returned. 

Holloway then smashed the victim's car windows in order to lure Herblin back to the parking lot. 

Once outside, Dodgson attacked him and stabbed him nine times.

Dodgson and Holloway left Herblin "alone and in the dark and cold," the judge noted.

Herblin stumbled to the nearby Shell gas station, where he asked the attendant for help.

She sat him down in a chair and called 911 but Herblin slumped to the floor and died in the gas station.