A Terrace man has been sentenced to 27 months in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter after he punched an unsuspecting man in the head in an East Vancouver park in 2021.
With credit for time served awaiting sentencing, Jeff Arnie Lincoln, 41, has six months left to serve.
The father of eight by two mothers pleaded guilty to manslaughter in December in the Aug. 5, 2021 death of Gilles Hebert, 60, in Grandview Park.
Judge Mark Jette said Lincoln had been told a man had earlier treated an elderly woman aggressively and exposed himself in the park.
Jette said Lincoln’s girlfriend had identified Hebert as that person as he entered the park.
The judge said Lincoln put on gloves, walked over to Hebert and punched him in the face.
“Mr. Lincoln approached with deliberation,” Jette said. “He employed violence.”
Hebert fell straight backward and struck his head on the pavement, suffering a “massive” head injury, Jette said.
He died in hospital later that day.
“This was a senseless act of violence,” Jette said. “Mr. Hebert did nothing to provoke what happened that day.”
Jette called the attack a “vigilant act” with Lincoln dispensing “his own idea of justice.”
Homicide investigators identified the suspect and spent months gathering evidence before making the arrest.
The court, however, heard Lincoln had turned himself in that day and was arrested some time later. He received bail that was later revoked and has been in custody since.
Lincoln already has two convictions for violent offences.
“I’ve accepted he is remorseful and his remorse is genuine,” Jette said.
Gilles Hebert
An obituary in the Winnipeg Free Press described Hebert as a gentle soul and a pillar of his community.
He was a volunteer at Britannia Community Centre and was known as a craftsman who loved sculpting stone and wood and did carpentry work.
A victim impact statement from Hebert’s partner of 25 years, David Parent, called Hebert’s death “a senseless and random act of violence.”
Of his loss, he said, “to say my life would never be the same is an understatement,” noting, “Gilles was in the wrong place at the wrong time and for that my life is forever changed.”
Indigenous background
Jette applied sentencing principles for Indigenous people in the case, so-called Gladue factors; Lincoln is a member of northwestern B.C.’s Nisga’a Nation, the court heard.
He explained courts must take into account the effects of colonialism when sentencing Indigenous offenders.
“He is an Indigenous person who has suffered the worst effects of colonialism,” Jette said.
Many of Lincoln’s family members were in residential schools and substance abuse and violence were part of his life from a young age.
He fled his home at age 10, couch surfing with friends before turning to the streets.
“He has been grasping for a safe haven in this world,” Jette said. “He has lived in poverty and been subject to homelessness.”
