Sean Patrick Patterson will remain incarcerated until at least June 5, 2034, thirteen years after he was arrested for the murder of Jamie Leard.
30-year-old Patterson was sentenced on Thursday afternoon in Moncton’s court of King’s Bench by Judge Tracey K. DeWare.
In April, Patterson pled guilty to the second degree murder of Jamie Leard over two years ago in Upper Cape, between Port Elgin and Cape Tormentine. Patterson admitted to shooting Leard in the head after he returned home on May 25, 2021, but says he intended only to scare his friend and roommate. Another friend, Henry Pottie, has also pled guilty in the death of Leard, admitting to assisting or encouraging Patterson in the dangerous confrontation. But there remain discrepancies in the agreed facts of the case. Prosecutor Maurice Blanchard told CHMA he will wait until after a sentencing hearing for Pottie on September 15 before commenting on the case.
Judge DeWare called the crime “horrific and senseless” and noted that while there was no clear motive, Patterson’s use of methamphetamine during the same time period ”must have played a significant role in what occurred.”
DeWare explained that a conviction of second degree murder gets an automatic life sentence, but the number of years a person serves before being eligible for parole is decided by the court. DeWare also said that whether Patterson is released after June 2034 is a matter for the parole board, and that if released, he will be “subject to strict conditions likely for the remainder of his life.”
The judge noted that Patterson’s murder of Leard was not provoked, nor did it happen in the heat of the moment, calling his actions, “incomprehensible.” She also noted that by lying to the police and destroying evidence, he “prolonged the agony of Mr. Leard’s disappearance for his family.”
But the judge also noted Patterson has been “an exemplary inmate since his arrest, and taken the opportunity to further his education and deal with his addiction issues.”
Patterson’s sentence is life imprisonment, with a period of 13 years of ineligibility for parole.
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