REGINA– The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal rejected a Saskatoon Crown prosecutor’s application for a longer sentence for a man convicted of manslaughter two years ago.
In May 2021, Destin Mosquito was sentenced to seven years in prison after he had pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the September 2019 death of 31-year-old Kevin Nataucappo in Saskatoon. An appeal of the sentence was heard at Sask. Court of Appeal in March 2022.
“The Crown alleges that the sentencing judge committed a dizzying array of errors in principle,” said Sask. Court of Appeal Justice Brian Barrington-Foote in his 33-page written decision March 2.
The Crown had argued that the sentencing judge ignored a variety of aggravating factors and Mosquito’s degree of responsibility. In addition, the Crown said that the sentencing judge gave unreasonable weight to facts that didn’t mitigate the gravity of the crimes or Mosquito’s moral culpability, failed to assess moral culpability at all, didn’t take into account that Nataucappo’s death was the result of a violent home invasion, and that Mosquito had a prohibited weapon while banned.
Defence Blaine Beaven had argued before the Sask. Court of Appeal that the sentencing judge didn’t err in principle and considered the factors that should be weighed in assessing his moral culpability.
He also argued that the Crown presented an unfair and slanted view of what happened in the sentencing hearing, identifying errors that didn’t happen, misconstruing submissions of the parties, and making expansive arguments based on case law that the Crown didn’t refer to in their initial sentencing submissions.
Justice Barrington-Foote agreed with the defence, in concurrence with Justices Jeffery Kalmakoff and Neal Caldwell.
He ruled that based on the agreed facts by the Crown and defence at the May 2021 sentencing hearing, Mosquito’s seven-year sentence for a manslaughter charge was appropriate.
Mosquito was one of four people who were sentenced in Nataucappo’s death.
In September 2019, Destin Mosquito, 21, along with Devin Wesequate, 25, Darrel Dustyhorn, 37, Mohamad Al-Zawahreh, 23, and the deceased, Kevin Nataucappo, 31, forced their way into a home at 95 Howell Avenue with the intention of beating up a resident at the home, according to court documents.
Court heard that the fight was brief but intense. Mosquito was armed with a loaded, sawed-off shotgun, which discharged and hit Nataucappo in the back. Nataucappo died in hospital.
Mosquito who was a gang member, fled the scene with his three other associates, leaving a wounded Nataucappo behind, court heard.
In March 2021, Wesaquate was sentenced to five years in prison for manslaughter. In September 2021, Dustyhorn was handed seven years in prison and Al-Zawahreh – whose idea it was to go to the residence for a fight - was sentenced to eight years in prison.
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