Hamilton man sentenced after pleading guilty in 2013 Tyler Johnson homicide
One of three men who won new trials after appealing their convictions in the 2013 homicide of Tyler Johnson has been sentenced to 15 years for manslaughter.
Joshua Barreira pleaded guilty to manslaughter in August and was sentenced Nov. 16, according to a record of the hearing obtained by The Spectator.
The 32-year-old spent seven years in pretrial custody, but was given credit for 10-and-a-half years. This includes six months enhanced credit for enduring the harsh conditions of jail during the COVID-19 pandemic, where detention centres have seen increased lockdowns and a lack of access to programming and supports. It was estimated Barreira spent 25 per cent of his time in custody in lockdown.
Johnson, a 30-year-old McMaster University engineering student, was shot to death on Nov. 30, 2013, in Hess Village during a brief confrontation with a group of men.
According to an agreed statement of facts, Joshua Barreira was involved, but not the shooter.
He was called to Hess Village early that morning by his brother, Brandon Barreira, and was anticipating a fight with Johnson. The men found Johnson leaving a store, where he was shot by Chad Davidson, according to the agreed statement of facts.
Court heard Joshua Barreira had an extensive criminal record and had only recently been out of custody when he was arrested for the murder. But he also has support of family who believe he is remorseful and working to change his life. Once out of prison he has plans to leave Hamilton and start a small family business with his dad.
During a sentencing hearing in October, Johnson's aunt read a victim impact statement on behalf of his mom, Linda, who wrote about the devastation of losing her only son. The Spectator has previously reported that Linda died in 2017, 10 days after the jury reached it's verdict in the original trial.
In that trial both Barreira brothers and Davidson were convicted of first-degree murder. But earlier this year all three won new trials after the Ontario Court of Appeal found the trial judged erred in his instructions to the jury.
Davidson admitted at the trial to shooting Johnson, but argued he should have been found guilty of manslaughter because he was reacting to Johnson taking a swing at him. A fourth man, Louis Rebelo, was sentenced in 2017 to eight years after being convicted of manslaughter.
Both Davidson and Brandon Barreira's cases are scheduled to return to court Dec. 18 to set a date.
Nicole O'Reilly is a Hamilton-based reporter covering crime and justice for The Spectator. Reach her via email: noreilly@thespec.com