Crown calls for 7-year sentence in 2022 Coquitlam drug deal killing

Prosecutors are seeking a seven-year prison sentence for a man who pleaded guilty to stabbing a Coquitlam senior to death in 2022.

It was a dramatic and emotional day in B.C. Supreme Court, where victim impact statements were heard as part of the sentencing hearing for 25-year-old Jeffrey Stevens.

Last year, Stevens pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of 66-year-old Terry Miller, after he was initially charged with second-degree murder in connection with the 2022 Coquitlam killing.

This case was ultimately a drug deal gone wrong.

Miller accompanied his son, who was planning to sell $1,500 worth of cocaine to Stevens, who was just 21 years old at the time.

Following some sort of misunderstanding or incidence of paranoia, Stevens stabbed both Miller and his son.

The violent confrontation happened on Schoolhouse Street in February 2022.

Twelve days after he was stabbed multiple times by Stevens, Miller died in hospital.

A second man who accompanied Stevens was also initially charged with manslaughter but the charges against him were stayed.

Proceedings at one point on Thursday had to be paused following an outburst from Miller’s son Tyler, as he expressed frustration as a discussion over the notion of self-defence being a factor in his father’s killing.

After the outburst, Miller returned to court and delivered a victim impact statement, saying his “best friend and father were taken that day.”

Also sharing, “I watched him die that day and I dream about it every single night.”

The Crown is calling for a seven-year sentence for Stevens, while his defence argues for a sentence roughly half of that—in the range of three to four years.

Stevens’ lawyers have put forward the argument that as a 21-year-old, he should be considered an “emerging adult.” They’ve pointed to that category of adult as being treated differently in other jurisdictions in the western world, with research indicating the brain still develops well into a person’s mid-20s, especially in relation to young men.

Stevens’ Indigenous ancestry—specifically his Metis heritage—is also a consideration for the judge.

The hearing is scheduled to resume later this month.