THUNDER BAY - A man who already served six years for a 2009 manslaughter conviction will spend the next 12 years behind bars after pleading guilty to a second manslaughter charge for his role in the 2017 death of 50-year-old Robert Lloyd Gray.
Garnet Loon, 44, of Cat Lake First Nation was sentenced in a Thunder Bay Courtroom on Wednesday to 16 years. With credit for pre-sentence custody at 943 days, enhanced to 1,415 days, Loon will serve an additional 4,425 days, or just a little more than 12 years.
Defense attorney Danial Gunn and Crown attorney Trevor Jukes presented a joint sentencing submission earlier this month with a sentence range between 13 and 17 years in custody.
Justice Danial Newton said there were several aggravating factors taken into consideration when handing down his sentence, including Loon’s lengthy criminal record.
“Mr. Loon has 26 prior convictions for violence and threats of violence including assaults with weapons, assaults causing bodily harm, aggravated assaults, and more significantly, a conviction for manslaughter in 2009 for which he received a six-year sentence,” Justice Newton read in court.
In 2009, Loon pleaded guilty to manslaughter for his role in the beating death of 18-year-old Jordan Achneepineskum.
“Since his release from penitentiary for the manslaughter sentence, the pattern of violence has continued,” Justice Newton said.
In July 2017, Thunder Bay Police received a call from two women who were concerned about Gray’s welfare.
Police attended a residence on the 200 block of Carl Avenue where the body of Gray was found, as well as the body of 22-year-old Kory Lee Campbell.
A post-mortem examination found multiple blunt impact traumas to Gray’s head, as well as contusions and lacerations over the face. Gray suffered an axonal injury to the brain and the impact injuries indicate survival of a period of hours prior to death.
Garnet Loon, along with his daughter, Kailee Loon, were arrested in Sioux Lookout and charged with second-degree murder in relation to Gray’s death. Kailee Loon was also charged with assault in connection to Campbell’s death.
Kailee Loon pleaded guilty to assault in connection to Gray and Campbell’s deaths and she has since been released from custody after being sentenced to one day less time served.
Garnet Loon pleaded guilty to manslaughter in November 2019 for his role in Gray’s death and the charge of manslaughter in relation to Campbell’s death was withdrawn by the Crown.
Other aggravating factors in Justice Newton’s decision included the violent nature of the assault and that Gray was left for dead at the residence.
“Mr. Gray was knocked unconscious and, therefore, defenseless when the fatal blows were delivered,” Justice Newton said. “Weapons were used. After Mr. Gray was knocked unconscious, Mr. Loon used a skateboard to strike Mr. Gray a number of times. Mr. Loon struck Mr. Gray with enough force to cause two skull fractures.”
“Uncertain whether he had killed Mr. Gray, Mr. Loon left Mr. Gray to die,” Justice Newton continued. “The postmortem examination revealed that the brain injury occurred hours before death and it is agreed that Mr. Gray was alive when Mr. Loon left after the assault.”
The impact Gray’s death has had on his home community, which was shared during a victim impact statement earlier this month, was also an aggravating factor.
“This crime affects not only those directly involved but all members of the communities: everyone is interrelated,” Justice Newton said. “The cycle of violence and the trauma from occurrences like this in our First Nation Communities must end.”
A pre-sentence report and a Gladue Report were prepared and Justice Newton acknowledged that Loon has lived a life scarred by abuse, trauma, tragedy, addiction and violence and “attempts at rehabilitation have been unsuccessful.”
Loon is also facing a lifetime ban on possessing any type of weapon and is required to submit a DNA sample for the DNA Data Bank.
“To the family of Robert Gray, I express my sympathy for your loss of a brother and cousin,” Justice Newton said.
