Roger Bilodeau, the Alberta man convicted of two counts of manslaughter for the slayings of two Métis hunters in March 2020, had a hearing for the appeal of his 10-year sentence Thursday.
Bilodeau was convicted of two counts of manslaughter for the fatal shootings of Jake Sansom, 39, and Maurice Cardinal, 57.
Bilodeau’s son who did the shooting, Anthony Bilodeau, was convicted of manslaughter in Sansom’s death and second-degree murder in Cardinal’s.
Roger was sentenced in August 2022.
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‘It’s angering’: Family of Métis hunters killed in 2020 reflect on sentencing
The appeal is based on technical legal arguments that the judge made errors in instructing the jury on the rules of law.
The Crown disagrees the jury was not properly instructed.
Sansom and Cardinal, his uncle, were moose hunting near Glendon, Alta., more than 200 km northwest of Edmonton, the day they were killed.
Roger and another one of his sons, Joseph, said during the trial they feared the hunters were robbers in the rural area and chased the mens’ vehicle, reaching speeds up to 152 km/h.
Bilodeau called his older son, Anthony, who lived nearby, to come and bring a gun.
Roger pulled in front of the hunters’ vehicle with the intention to slow it down until his son arrived, according to previously agreed statement of facts.
The incident was captured by surveillance video from a nearby gas plant.
Twenty-six seconds after Anthony arrived the two men were shot.
Sentencing added additional credit for time served during COVID.
Judge Eric Macklin credited Roger for a little more than 1,600 days of time served in the Edmonton Remand Centre, counting additional time due to harsher conditions in custody during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Roger is expected to serve roughly five-and-a-half years in prison.
Anthony, who was sentenced to 13 years has also filed an appeal of his conviction.
