2 teens sentenced for role in fatal swarming outside Edmonton high school

Two teens were sentenced Monday for their roles in a fatal five-on-one swarming attack outside an Edmonton high school three years ago. 

Karanveer Sahota, 16, died after he was stabbed shortly after leaving McNally High School on the afternoon of April 8, 2022.

The sentencing of the final two out of seven teens involved in the killing has brought the court proceedings to a close. Both young men sentenced Monday have been found guilty of manslaughter.

The two young men, referred to as P.D. and G.S. in Monday's proceedings in an Edmonton Court of King's Bench courtroom, were both under 18 at the time of the attack and cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

P.D., who is now 19, will serve 21 months. Half of the sentence will be in custody with the remainder to be served under conditional supervision of not being in contact with Sahota's family.

G.S., who is now 17, was given a 15-month sentence with five months to be served in custody and 10 months under conditional supervision of not being in touch with any of the co-accused in the case.

Justice Peter Michalyshyn said P.D.'s sentence is based on his involvement in the swarming, which was only second to another youth involved in the killing referred to as M.A., who was 14 at the time and admitted to stabbing the victim once.

An aggravating factor was P.D.'s use of a field hockey stick to hit Sahota. 

It's taken three years for all the cases to wind their way through the court system:

• A woman who was 17 at the time of the attack admitted that she drove a car away from the scene. She pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to an assault with a weapon, and was sentenced to 12 months probation.
• A young man who was 15 at the time admitted to driving a different car from the scene. He pleaded guilty to the same charge and received the same sentence as the driver of the other vehicle.
• A teen who was 15 at the time admitted to being part of a group assault on the victim, but did not stab or punch him. The teen pleaded guilty to manslaughter and received four months in jail, and four months of community supervision.
• A teen who was 14 at the time admitted to stabbing the victim once and pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He received a three-year Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision (IRCS) order, which is anticipated to include 18 months in jail followed by 18 months of community supervision.
• A young man who was 15 at the time was handed an 18-month sentence for manslaughter. He will spend nine months in jail and nine months under supervision in the community, followed by a year of probation. Although the judge found no evidence he had weapons, he was still an active participant in the assault. 

"The offence of manslaughter is amongst the most serious in Canadian criminal law," Michalyshyn said about his decision.

"I find their sentences are most likely to rehabilitate P.D. and G.S. and to reintegrate them both into society." 

Both young men sentenced on Monday will be on probation for a year after their incarceration. 

A group of more than 10 people came to watch the proceedings.