THUNDER BAY — A Whitesand First Nation man who admitted to stabbing and killing 27-year-old Lance Wanakamik near Armstrong has been sentenced to six years in custody.
A sentencing hearing was held late last month for 58-year-old Stanford Kokokons before Justice Helen Pierce in a Thunder Bay courtroom.
Kokokons pleaded guilty to manslaughter in July where the court heard he stabbed Wanakamik once in the chest following a night of drinking at a camp near Mud River in April 2021.
Wanakamik, Kokokons, and several others were in the area approximately 35 kilometres east of Armstrong with plans to cut wood.
Most of the people present were consuming alcohol and Kokokons began to urinate on the floor inside one of the cabins. After he was removed, an argument ensued between Kokokons and Wanakamik. The argument escalated and Kokokons grabbed a large knife and stabbed Wanakamik once in the chest.
Wanakamik stopped breathing while first responders were travelling to the area and he was pronounced dead by paramedics when they arrived.
A post-mortem examination found the wound to Wanakamik’s chest would have resulted in death within 20 to 30 minutes due to blood loss from internal bleeding.
Crown attorney Matthew Humphreys was seeking a custodial sentence of eight years, while Kokokons' defence counsel, Kevin Matthews, sought a four-year sentence.
Pierce said in her decision that she agreed with the Crown’s argument that the level of intoxication, while normally a mitigating factor, was aggravating in this case.
“The Crown submits that after 12 years of sobriety, the offender should recognize that when he drinks, he poses a risk to others, and thus, the fact that he was heavily intoxicated is an aggravating factor. I agree,” Pierce said.
The use of a knife, Kokokons' past conviction of stabbing another individual with a screwdriver, a pattern of violence committed while intoxicated, and the knowledge that the area was remote and medical assistance was not readily available were also listed as aggravating factors by Pierce.
Kokokons' admission of guilt and expressions of remorse was cited as a mitigating factor.
In her reasons for sentence, Pierce disagreed with the Crown’s assertion that the facts of this case make it “akin to near-murder” that calls for a sentence in the higher range for manslaughter.
“We are left to wonder if Lance would have survived had these events occurred where immediate medical help was available,” Pierce said. “The angle of the wound, away from the heart or lungs, suggests that Mr. Kokokons did not intend to fatally wound Lance.”
Pierce described Kokokons' actions as most likely lashing out from “embarrassment and humiliation, reaching for the nearest weapon at hand, the kitchen knives, hanging on the wall.”
Kokokons' expressions of remorse, as well as a Gladue report that detailed his exposure to alcohol at an early age and the inter-generational trauma of the residential school system was taken into account by Pierce.
And while Pierce noted that Kokokons has demonstrated in the past that he can be a productive member of his community when abstaining from alcohol, she added that when he drinks he poses a danger to those around him.
“The risk to others is not present when he is sober. He must learn to deal with the unresolved anger and grief that triggers his desire to drink. Only then can the community, which he values, be safe,” Pierce said.
“Mr. Kokokons is capable of rehabilitation. He is motivated to live a peaceful, constructive life. He has done so in the past. The weight of a denunciatory sentence should not be so great as to discourage his efforts at rehabilitation.”
Pierce sentenced Kokokons to six years in custody. With pre-sentence custody credited at 275 days, Kokokons has five years and 90 days left to serve.
Kokokons is also required to submit a DNA sample and is subject to a lifetime weapons prohibition.
