Man gets 10 years for bush party death, assault in ‘petty teenaged conflict’

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The judge didn’t mince words about what he thought of Dylan Schaap and his involvement in Josue Silva’s death at a southwest London bush party.

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“All that Mr. Schaap has going for him is that he did not pull the trigger,” said Superior Court Justice Michael Carnegie when he sentenced Schaap, 23, to 10 years in prison for manslaughter and assault with a weapon on Tuesday. “Short of that, it is difficult to find much that redeems his respective conduct.”

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Schapp, 23, pleaded guilty in May to manslaughter as a party to the offence in the shocking shooting that left the 18-year-old Western University student dead. Schaap also pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon for attacking Silva’s best friend Logan Marshall, 22, and hitting him in the head with the blunt end of a machete, leaving him with a concussion.

Factoring in his time served already, Schaap has 4 1/2 years left to serve on his sentence.

“He and his friend came armed, bent on intimidation and confrontation because one in their group suffered a bruised ego,” Carnegie said.

“They got what they came for, leaving Josue Silva to die and Logan Marshall concussed, but having escaped with his life.”

There is a partial publication ban surrounding some of the facts entered at Schaap’s sentencing hearing, but Carnegie was told that Schaap and a friend went to the location of the party on Pack Road on July 31, 2021, set on settling a score for a woman who had called them claiming she was going to be attacked by a group of young men.

The party was attended by more than 150 young people. The woman was at the party separately with her friends and at some point became engaged in an argument over a thrown drink and unwanted photos aimed at her, before being asked to leave.

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Schaap, his friend and others met up with the woman at the entrance to the bush and then headed into the party. Schaap had a machete, while his friend had a handgun inside his shoulder bag. Some people who were leaving at the same time saw them and contacted those who had been in the earlier confrontation and warned them that the woman was back with armed reinforcements.

Marshall and Silva had been part of the previous argument involving the woman. They and others hid in the woods away from the central bonfire.

When they couldn’t be found, the woman, Schaap, his friend and others decided to leave. Silva and his friends received messages that the threat had passed, but when they came out of the bushes, Schaap attacked Marshall and hit him with the blunt end of the machete.

Marshall was able to get up and run, but suffered a concussion. In the commotion, Silva was shot. Schaap ran away with his friends and offered no assistance. Three days later, Schaap and his friends happily shared a London Free Press article about Silva’s death and text-chatted with heart and fire emojis.

Before sentencing Schaap, Carnegie acknowledged the terrible loss experienced by the Silva family, who were at the hearing along with Marshall and some of Silva’s closest friends.

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“Their community of friends has been rocked by this tragedy,” Carnegie said.

Schaap is a high school dropout with a Grade 10 education. He told the author of his pre-sentence report that he was the victim of bullying and preferred to hang out at the smoking pit at high school. He was suspended several times for violence and his work history is spotty.

The judge noted that Schaap saw himself as “a follower, looking for acceptance” who has expressed remorse for what happened in the three years he’s been in custody.

Schaap’s defence lawyer, Aaron Prevost, had argued for a five-year sentence, which would amount to time served. Assistant Crown attorney Jennifer Moser had asked for 12 years.

Carnegie said that the circumstances of this case of manslaughter “fall far closer to murder than they do to mere accident… This form of gratuitous violence involving dangerous weapons and firearms must be condemned in the strongest possible way.“

He pointed to increased local concern about gun violence in the community and how “our courts are facing this reality.” Carnegie added that in his own experience he has seen an increasing number of cases involving machete attacks.

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He took into account Schaap’s guilty plea, his co-operation with police, his remorse and the harsh conditions of the provincial jails where he has been housed since August 2021.

The sentence imposed was 10 years for manslaughter and two years to be served at the same time for the assault on Marshall. “This form of gratuitous violence involving dangerous weapons and firearms must be condemned in the strongest possible way,” Carnegie said.

“Mr. Schaap and his friend were all too eager to involve themselves in another’s petty teenaged conflict. They attended this bush party intent upon intimidation and violence. To affect their joint intention, they came armed with a handgun and machete. Each knew the other’s intention,” the judge said.

“They hunted out their prey and, when presented with the opportunity, carried out their premeditated goal,” Carnegie said and added that Schaap caused direct physical harm to Marshall “who was lucky to escape with his life.”

At the end of the hearing, Moser asked that other gun charges Schaap was facing be withdrawn. Schaap looked back toward Silva’s family as he was taken away.

Other charges laid in the case are being dealt with in another court proceeding.

jsims@postmedia.com

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