A B.C. Supreme Court judge has sentenced a man who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in a 2019 Surrey homicide to eight years in prison before parole eligibility.
Jordan Robert James Bottomley, now 29, was originally charged with first-degree murder in the Nov. 11, 2019 killing of Andrew Baldwin.
“After the trial had commenced, the Crown agreed to a plea to the offence of manslaughter,” Justice Martha Devlin said in her July 18 decision after the trial, heard in Supreme Court sitting in New Westminster.
Devlin said prior to the death, Bottomley was engaged in drug trafficking with a number of other men.
Baldwin was also in involved in the drug trade with one of those other men and apparently owed one of them a debt.
In July and to the end of August 2019, Baldwin and Bottomley were friends and lived together in a basement suite.
Baldwin occupied a higher position than Bottomley in the trafficking operation, and directed Bottomley about which drugs he could sell and when.
Both were also drug users, Devlin said.
However, Baldwin had come into conflict with one of the other men for incorrectly mixing bulk drugs for sale — a process known as “buffing.”
By the fall of 2019, the relationship between Baldwin and Bottomley had broken down and they had moved out of their shared suite.
Prior to the incident, there had been calls between Bottomley and two of the drug colleagues; that resulted in a planned and coordinated arrival at A.B.’s residence near 124th Street and Lien Road where Baldwin was killed.
A.B. and Baldwin were watching a movie on a computer, the court heard.
As the movie started, A.B. said, the door “burst open all of a sudden.”
Someone dressed in all black with sunglasses on came bursting through the door, Devlin said.
“According to A.B., the intruder 'instantly dove onto Josh [Mr. Baldwin] and started stabbing — well, that’s what it looked like, he was stabbing him.' It is admitted that the intruder was Mr. Bottomley,” Devlin said.
In addition to the fatal stab wound to his chest, Baldwin sustained nine other sharp force injuries to his torso and right upper extremity.
A.B. immediately grabbed a machete he had been sharpening and tried to stop the attack.
“A dynamic and frantic situation ensued, with Mr. Baldwin and the intruder wrestling while A.B. aggressively swung his machete at the intruder,” Devlin said. “I find that Mr. Bottomley persisted in his attack on Mr. Baldwin undeterred by the blows inflicted by A.B.’s machete.”
Baldwin continued to struggle with Bottomley, who had also released a blast of bear spray.
“Suddenly, the wrestling stopped and Mr. Baldwin rolled back and fell on the floor, leaning up against the couch,” Devlin said.
Bottomley then fled while A.B. ran to a neighbouring business to call 911.
On Nov 19, 2019, RCMP executed a warrant and photographed Bottomley’s injuries.
“I find as a fact that the injuries located on Mr. Bottomley align with A.B.’s evidence and the damage present on the jacket, hoodie, and gloves located at Mr. Bottomley’s residence,” Devlin said.
The judge said Bottomley addressed the court and Baldwin’s family.
“He expressed sincere remorse and took responsibility for his actions,” Devlin said. “He sincerely apologized for taking Andrew’s life. I found Mr. Bottomley’s remarks to be genuine and sincere.”
With credit for time already served, Bottomley must serve a remaining sentence of three years and 38 days.
