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A man who killed his friend by launching a pickup truck into a building was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years, but he likely won’t sit behind bars for long.

Following a joint submission from prosecution and defence lawyers, Andrew Cowan was sentenced in a matter of minutes to the mandatory minimum for second-degree murder. But defence lawyer Patrick Ducharme said he expects Cowan will be released on bail pending an appeal, which will be filed by Dec. 21.

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Ducharme said the current prosecutor in the case, Michael Carnegie, has indicated he will consent to bail during the appeal.

“I’m hoping it gets overturned and we either do it again and do it better, or maybe it doesn’t have to be done over again if a prosecutor smiles on us and says this is not worth trying again,” Ducharme said outside court.

Photo by Dan Janisse / The Windsor Star

A jury convicted Cowan, 45, of second-degree murder in August for the death of his friend Ed Witt.