reply to post by devilhisself
here's what happened to Dan Berrigan as devilhisself was starting to tell
Man pleads guilty in shooting death: Killer faces at least four years for manslaughter:[Final Edition]
Nanaimo Daily News. Nanaimo, B.C.:Nov 12, 2005. p. A3
A guilty plea was entered Thursday in the case of a shooting death south of the city in August 2004.
Forty-year-old Brian Ferstel appeared in provincial court as his family and the family of murder victim Dan Berrigan looked on as he pleaded guilty to
manslaughter.
But before the plea was entered, Crown lawyer Frank Dubenski and defence lawyer Clint Sadlemyer had to go through certain legal formalities.
As Ferstel, dressed in a black suit and white shirt, stood before Judge Eldon Iverson, Dubenski first asked that a charge of second- degree murder
against Ferstel be stayed. Sadlemyer then re-elected trial in provincial court.
Ferstel had elected trial in B.C. Supreme Court by judge alone.
After Ferstel said "guilty" to manslaughter, Sadlemyer added that he did so "based on the excessive use of force" in the course of self defence.
Dubenski said it is a case with a minimum four-year sentence since the killing was committed with a firearm.
In the Aug. 19 shooting, it was Ferstel who first called police - saying he'd just shot Berrigan - and asked them to attend his property off Nanaimo
Lakes Road. Berrigan was dead by the time paramedics arrived, and an autopsy later found he'd been shot in the head twice by a .22-calibre rifle.
Berrigan had been living on the property and there were reports of conflict between the two for some time. Ferstel had apparently been seeking to
evict Berrigan, and that was part of rising tension between the two which led Ferstel to feel he needed to be armed.
Both lawyers agreed the matter should be adjourned to another date for sentencing and asked that a pre-sentence report on Ferstel be prepared. It is
expected the sentencing will take place sometime in February.
Ferstel's family sat on one side of the court in the front row, and Berrigan's family opposite. Berrigan's sister wore a T-shirt with a picture of
her deceased brother on it.