Man who helped murderer flee country on forged passport pleads guilty

The second Calgary man who helped a murderer escape the country ahead of his trial has pleaded guilty.

Marshall Quillian, 22, provided identification so that Nathan Gervais could flee Calgary ahead of his first-degree murder trial in 2016.

On Monday, Quillian pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and an offence involving the forging of a passport after a deal was struck between defence lawyer Rebecca Snukal and prosecutor Steven Johnston.

For the forgery offence, he was sentenced by Court of Queen's Bench Justice Craig Jones to 90 days in jail, which, with the time he spent in custody, has already been served.

On the obstruction charge, Quillian was handed a 21-month sentence, which he is allowed to serve at home, with seven months of that term to be served on house arrest.  

• 2 men charged for allegedly helping murder suspect flee Canada

In 2014, Gervais was released on bail pending his trial but on April 13, 2016, he fled to Vietnam.

Sean Airey, who has since pleaded guilty and received a two-year sentence, got a passport using Marshall Quillian's name and Gervais's photo. Quillian and Airey were associates. 

Quillian also got a disposable Titanium MasterCard in his name for Gervais, which was used to buy a plane ticket to Vietnam, according to an agreed statement of facts read aloud by Johnston on Monday.

Gervais was eventually arrested in Vietnam.

Although Canada does not have an extradition treaty with that country, because he was there illegally, Vietnamese authorities worked with Calgary police, who picked up the fugitive and brought him home to face his charges.

In May 2019, Gervais was convicted of first-degree murder at a trial scheduled after he returned to the country.

3 others convicted 

Lukas Strasser-Hird, 18, died after he was swarmed and stabbed in an alley at Second Street and 10th Avenue S.W. in Calgary in 2013.

The fight followed a confrontation at a nightclub where Strasser-Hird spoke out after another man shouted a racial slur at a bouncer.

Gervais was set to be tried along with four other young men, three of which — Franz Cabrera, Assmar Shlah and Joch Pouk — were later convicted in Strasser-Hird's death. 

Cabrera and Shlah were found guilty of second-degree murder, while Pouk was found guilty of manslaughter.