Teen beat man to death with tree branch

By DEAN PRITCHARD, QMI Agency
September 30, 2010

WINNIPEG — A 19-year-old Garden Hill First Nation man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder after beating another man to death with a tree branch.

Peter Ronnie Taylor, 22, died following a confrontation on the reserve on Sept. 12, 2008.

The accused cannot be named because he was still a youth at the time of the killing.

Prosecutor Wendy Friesen told court Wednesday the Crown will not be seeking an adult sentence for the accused. Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the maximum sentence for second-degree murder is seven years, three of which must be served under community supervision.

The accused pleaded guilty to the killing despite advice he had a viable defence, said his lawyer Greg Brodsky.

"I told him he has an arguable case," Brodsky said.

The accused was a member of a local gang called the Krazies and Taylor was a member of a rival gang called the Renegades. A month prior to Taylor's death, another Renegade gang member killed a gang rival related to the accused.

Taylor taunted the accused about the killing when they were both intoxicated, Brodsky said.

The accused grabbed a thick tree branch and beat Taylor repeatedly about the head and body. Taylor died from his injuries after being taken to the local nursing station.

From: http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/2010/09/29/15524006.html