A A

The patriarch of a well-known Halifax crime family has passed away.

Terry Marriott Sr., 70, died “unexpectedly” Tuesday at his home in Spryfield, according to his obituary.

Marriott was in and out of prison for most of his life, lawyer Wayne Bacchus said at his last sentencing in August 2015, after he pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

That charge was laid after police raided Marriott’s apartment on Herring Cove Road on July 31, 2015, and seized 95 grams of cocaine, scales, packaging, cash and 250 grams of marijuana.

A Halifax provincial court judge accepted a joint recommendation from the Crown and the defence for a four-year prison sentence, less 42 days of credit for Marriott’s time on remand.

The defence lawyer told the court Marriott had endured a great deal of tragedy in his life and had serious medical issues, including problems with his heart, liver and lungs, and arthritis.

Marriott had more than 30 convictions on his criminal record going back to the 1960s, including at least 14 for drug-related offences.

In January 2012, Marriott was sentenced to two years in prison for possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, after police searched his house on Woodcrest Avenue in Spryfield in April 2009.

The defence lawyer at that sentencing, Chris Manning, now a provincial court judge, admitted Marriott’s record was “unenviable” but stressed that his client’s most previous drug offence had been in 1999.

Manning said Marriott only got back into drug-dealing to try to get information about the February 2009 killing of his son.

Death of Marriott's son

Terry Marriott Jr., 34, was shot to death while taking a nap at a friend's house in Harrietsfield.

“Mr. Marriott was very, very distraught and upset,” Manning told the court. “He expected that because of the name and the family, there would be less effort expended by the police (to find the killer).

“He decided … that if he was active on the street, so to speak, he might find tidbits of information that would lead to the discovery of his son’s killers. He decided the best way to do that was to become involved in the drug business, where information is readily transferred and given for drugs.”

Jimmy Melvin Jr., a member of a rival crime family, was arrested in 2015 and charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Terry Marriott Jr. but was found not guilty in May 2017 after a jury trial in Nova Scotia Supreme Court.

Five months later, in October 2017, a different jury found Melvin guilty on charges of attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder, from a thwarted plot to kill Terry Marriott Jr. in December 2008.

Melvin, 37, is still awaiting sentencing on those charges. The Crown wants him declared a dangerous offender and locked up indefinitely.

One of Terry Marriott Sr.’s other children, Brian James (B.J.) Marriott, 37, is among 15 men facing charges, including attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder, from an assault on an inmate at the Dartmouth jail two months ago.

In November 1998, Terry Marriott Sr.’s brother, Ricky Marriott, 32, was shot to death. Ricky, who used a wheelchair, was facing three drug charges. His girlfriend, Gail Stone, was also injured in the Nov. 20 shooting and died in hospital four days later.

In August 2000, another brother, Billy Marriott, 38, hanged himself in jail as he awaited trial for first-degree murder in the killing of former Hells Angels associate William St. Clair Wendelborg.

Terry Marriott Sr.’s obituary says he will be remembered for how much he loved his family and friends and for his sense of humour.

He is survived by his wife Darlene, whom he married last July, four children, 10 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

A celebration of Marriott's life will be held Friday afternoon at J. Albert Walker Funeral Home in Spryfield, with a reception to follow at a house in Williamswood.

RELATED: