Article content

A judge sentenced Lajray Orlando Redman Gordon to seven and a half years in prison after a jury convicted him of manslaughter in the fatal stabbing of David Merasty.

It took the jury slightly more than 10 hours to find the Jamaican man not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter for his role in Merasty’s death. Gordon stared straight ahead, expressionless, as the verdict was read Wednesday in Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Lajray Gordon sentenced to seven and a half years for manslaughter in stabbing of David Merasty Back to video

“When I said I never wanted for this to happen, I never wanted this, it was the truth,” Gordon said after Justice Grant Currie invited him to make a statement at the conclusion of his one-hour sentencing hearing Wednesday afternoon.

Gordon spent 364 days on remand, awaiting trial. Currie noted remand is typically more demanding than time served in prison and gave him credit for 18 months served.

“The jury held that this matter was not a murder but that it was a manslaughter, but we respect their verdict … We know that they put a lot of thought into their deliberations,” Crown prosecutor Cory Bliss told reporters outside court.