No jail time after guilty plea in fatal rooming house stabbing

A man who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the stabbing death of a 72-year-old man in aVancouverrooming house nearly four years ago will not serve time in prison.

The sentencing decision byB.C. provincial court Judge Reginald Harris says 31-year-old Anthony Woods must instead continue to live at a recovery home in the Interior for the first year of his two-year conditional sentence.

The court heard that Alex Gortmaker was stabbed on Dec. 15, 2020, in what is described as a "minor altercation" in an elevator after Woods and a friend had been drinking and taking drugs in a suite at the former Biltmore Hotel building.

Woods jumped from a balcony as he fled the area, but he was arrested several hours later, and the decision says he was "emotional," telling police he "wanted to apologize" to the victim's family and he wished the incident had never happened.

The decision outlines mitigating factors, including Woods' guilty plea, his co-operation with police and the "great strides" he's made in his rehabilitation, while the aggravating factors were the victim's age and vulnerability, Woods' use of a knife, and the fact his actions were a "disproportionate" response to the dispute.

Woods is not allowed to leave the recovery society property during the first year of his conditional sentence except in specific circumstances, such as travelling to and from counselling, and he is not allowed to possess any weapons.

Woods comes from the Gitxaala Nation on B.C.'s North Coast, and he was raised in the Vancouver area, the decision says. The judge found he experienced "poverty, violence, cultural disconnectedness, homelessness, [a] low level of education, loss of cultural teachings, exposure to substance abuse and separation from family."

The decision says Woods has been "substance-free" since September 2021, when he was charged and arrested for Gortmaker's death.

The Crown had sought a custodial sentence of four years minus credit for time served, while the sentencing decision says Woods' defence highlighted his "reduced culpability," lack of criminal record and his "rehabilitative prospects," seeking a sentence of two years less a day to be served in the community.

The judge ordered Woods to stay at the recovery society between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. every day for the entirety of the two-year conditional sentence.

A three-year probation order also directs him to complete 75 hours of community service and prohibits him from consuming alcohol or drugs without a prescription.