Man who killed Pat Stay sentenced to life in prison, no chance of parole for 17 years

The man convicted of killing Halifax rapper Pat Stay will be ineligible for parole for 17 years.

The man who killed Nova Scotia battle rapper Pat Stay has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 17 years.

Adam Drake was found guilty in June of second-degree murder in Stay’s death, following a six-week trial. It took the 12-person jury less than 12 hours to reach the guilty verdict.

Second-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence, with a parole ineligibility ranging from 10 to 25 years.

The defence had asked for a term of 13 to 15 years, while the Crown was seeking a sentence of between 20 and 23 years.

Defence attorney Michael Lacy cited Drake’s upbringing in a dysfunctional home where he witnessed alcohol and domestic abuse, as well as his facing discrimination as an Indigenous man, as contributing factors to his violent history. Lacy added Drake “is not beyond rehabilitation.”

The Crown disagreed, arguing that Drake’s criminal record speaks volumes, and warning that he is “the epitome of a threat to public safety.”

“We tried to impress upon this court, and did so, that Mr. Drake is a dangerous man,” said Crown attorney Carla Ball. “He walks in the community and causes grave threat to our society and that’s demonstrated by his criminal history.”

The judge set Drake’s parole ineligibility at 17 years during a sentencing hearing in Nova Scotia Supreme Court on Friday.

“The judge carefully considered all of the factors, no doubt, and landed on 17 years,” said Ball. “He’s weighing various facts, various mitigating and aggravating situations and circumstances, and the nature of what happened to Mr. Stay.”

Drake and his attorney both appeared in court via video-conference Friday. Lacy said his client maintains his innocence in Stay’s murder.

Stay fatally stabbed at Halifax club

Stay’s friends and family could be heard crying in court as the Crown recounted what happened the night Stay was killed.

Stay was fatally stabbed at the Yacht Club Social in Halifax around 12:35 a.m. on Sept. 4, 2022, after walking to the VIP area in the back of the club. He died on the sidewalk outside the club.

Drake was arrested on Sept. 10, 2022. He was initially charged with first-degree murder, but the charge was later changed to second-degree murder.

“He will start his parole ineligibility at the time he was first put into custody, so in this case he was put in custody for Pat Stay on Sept. 10, 2022,” explained Ball.

During the trial, the defence called into question the quality of the video surveillance inside the club and the position of the camera, which didn’t clearly show Drake fatally stabbing Stay.

However, the Crown noted Drake had made a Facebook comment on one of Stay’s music videos about 18 weeks before his death, arguing the post was an “implied threat.” The Crown said Drake was the only person involved in an altercation with Stay that night and was “perfectly positioned, diagonally across the table of the dark back corner of the nightclub and thrusted the knife into the centre of the chest.”

“The murder was fast, it was on purpose, and it was in the heart,” said the Crown during the trial.

Drake already serving life sentence for another murder

Drake is already serving a life sentence for killing another man in Halifax nine years ago.

Drake was convicted in October 2024 of first-degree murder in the death of Tyler Keizer, who was gunned down near a halfway house on Gottingen Street on Nov. 21, 2016.

Justice Timothy Gabriel found Drake killed Keizer, calling it an “execution-style murder.”

There was a publication ban on Drake’s previous murder conviction in the Keizer case during his trial for Stay’s murder to ensure the conviction didn’t influence the jury.

First-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence, with a minimum parole ineligibility of 25 years.

Drake’s appeal of his conviction in the death of Tyler Keizer will be heard next spring.

With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Jonathan MacInnis, Callum Smith and Sean Mott

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