It was an emotional courtroom as the family of Matthew Brabant, 20 years old, heard the sentencing for one of the men responsible for his death on the May long weekend last year.
After pleading guilty to manslaughter, Lawrence Opikokew was sentenced to 13 years, outside of the normal range of four to 12 years.
Brabant was found with gunshot wounds the morning of May 17, 2025. Saskatoon police say they responded to a motel in the 2000 block of Avenue B North around 5 a.m.
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He was taken to hospital, where he later died.
“There was a shot basically at random through a closed door,” Crown counsel David Piche said.
Piche said Opikokew using the gun to intimidate Brabant before the shooting gave more gravity to the dangerous nature of the violence.
“It’s always up in the air what the ultimate result will be and what evidence will be able to furnish,” Piche said.
Defence lawyer Zachary Carter says there was a lot of back and forth between the council on factors to consider.
“When you’re looking at a charge of manslaughter versus murder, the issue is, ‘What was the intention of the person when the action was committed?’” Carter said.
“There is a range that’s generally considered and there’s also cases where the judges go outside of that general range and this is one of those cases where it was appropriate.”
Co-accused Tyler Pambrun also entered a guilty plea to manslaughter with a firearm.
He is expected to be sentenced on June 1.
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