'I'm sorry,' says Nova Scotia man convicted in nail-gun shooting

A man convicted of shooting a young man in the back with a nail gun apologized to the victim in court Wednesday, as members of Nova Scotia's black community told a judge they have been traumatized by the crime.

Shawn Wade Hynes of Trenton, N.S., was found guilty of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon last September.

Hynes shot his co-worker, Nhlanhla Dlamini, on a worksite on Sept. 19, 2018. Dlamini suffered a punctured lung.

A sentencing hearing was held Wednesday in Pictou provincial court.

Crown lawyer Bill Gorman argued Hynes should be sentenced to 12 to 15 months in jail, followed by a period of probation in the range of 15 to 18 months.

He said Hynes was in a position of trust, was an experienced carpenter with knowledge of workplace safety and ought to have known the dangers of reckless use of a nail gun.

"The seriousness of what happened is without question," Gorman told Judge Del Atwood, stressing he needs to consider denunciation and deterrence when arriving at a sentence.

Defence lawyer Andrew O'Blenis told the court Hynes should not spend any time behind bars. He argued for a suspended sentence, followed by a lengthy period of probation.

O'Blenis said 19 character references from family, friends and coworkers were submitted as part of the hearing. He said the theme among the letters was that Hynes is a hard-working man and his actions were "clearly and drastically out of character."

"He's quiet. He's soft spoken. He doesn't say a lot, but he's clearly very caring," said O'Blenis, adding that Hynes has received threatening messages on social media as a result of the intense public interest in his case.

The court also heard two community impact statements from members of Nova Scotia's black community.

Raymond Sheppard told the court that many in the community saw the incident as a "hate crime," and because of historical racism, he was traumatized by what happened.

"I hope this case sends a message to all peoples that human life is valuable and we cannot, in 2020, have people on jobs, in workplaces, and so on, hurting each other because you don't like the way they look or you're jealous of their competency," said Sheppard.

Both lawyers reiterated that Hynes was not convicted of any race-related crimes.

Judge Del Atwood reserved his decision on sentencing until March 18, partly because he wanted to carefully consider the community impact statements that were filed.

Apology from Hynes

Hynes stood and addressed the court Wednesday, apologized to Dlamini — who was not present in court — and the wider community.

"I'd like to say I'm sorry for any pain and suffering this has caused him or the black community," said Hynes, wearing a grey sweatshirt and dark jeans.

Dlamini parent's, Stacey and Buhle Dlamini, said the incident was motivated by race. Buhle Dlamini said his son has suffered physically and emotionally.

What Dlamini's parents said

"He's very conscious all the time when he's in the community about how people perceive him, and how people see him — the people that support him and the people that are against him," said Buhle Dlamini outside of court.

"That's going to follow him the rest of his life."

Stacey Dlamini said the delay in sentencing was disappointing, but she was encouraged that Atwood wanted to take time to consider the impact the case has had on the community.

Buhle Dlamini added: "I think it's important to take into consideration... the impact that it's having not just on our family, but also many families across the province and even across the country."

The CBC's Aly Thomson live blogged from court.

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