EDMONTON—A man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his involvement in the death of two Metti Hunters who were shot on a country road in Alberta.
The judge said Roger Bilodeau is set to serve about six years for his credit for being detained for more than 1,600 days in harsh conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A jury found Bilodeau guilty of two counts of manslaughter in May after Jacob Sansom was shot once in the chest and Maurice Cardinal was shot three times in the shoulder more than two years ago.
“Jacob Sansom and Maurice Cardinal have been pillars of their community,” Queen’s Bench Court Judge Eric Macklin said Friday.
“They have supported not only families but entire communities, such as by providing fresh meat to needy families. No sentence can alleviate the grief, anger and hurt suffered by the victim’s family and friends.”
Bilodeau’s son, Anthony Bilodeau, was also found guilty of manslaughter in Sansom’s death and second-degree murder in the death of Sansom’s uncle, Cardinal. He will be executed at a later date.
The court heard that Sansom, 39, and Cardinal, 57, were moose hunting near Glendon, Alta in March 2020. With COVID-19 shutting down businesses, they were able to fill the family’s freezer with meat.
At trial, prosecutors said Roger Bilodeau called his son after Hunter briefly stopped in front of his home. He asked Anthony Bilodeau to bring the gun while chasing the hunter in his truck.
The court heard that Roger Bilodeau and Hunter were the first to stop the truck on the road. Anthony Bilodeau arrived soon after. Within 26 seconds, Anthony Bilodeau shot Sansom and Cardinal as Hunter was walking towards the truck, Crown attorney Jordan Carr said.
Kerr claimed that Elder Bilodor had taken the law into his own hands.
“Mr. Roger Bilodeau started this whole chain of events,” Carr said.
Prosecutors also claimed that the father and son were angry because they thought the two hunters were trying to steal from the family farm.
The hunters’ loved ones spoke Friday about how their deaths devastated them, their friends, and their communities.
“You are the thieves of our happiness and joy,” Sansom’s sister Gina Sansom said to Roger Bilodeau sitting in court.
“You are the thieves of our promised future and memory. You were the only thief in this court that night and today.”
She described her brother as a loving, patient and kind person.
Jacob Sansom’s wife, Sarah Sansom, cried, saying that her three children were the same since their father left.
Other loved ones talked about how they cried every day while they were left to die on the road, thinking what hunters must have felt in their final moments.
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