Oro-Medonte senior sentenced in shooting death of family friend

A 72-year-old Oro-Medonte man will spend years behind bars for the shooting death of a family friend three years ago.

On Tuesday, a judge sentenced Peter Vanderveen to six years in prison after the senior pleaded guilty to fatally shooting 34-year-old Lee William Lackey on Jan. 30, 2019.

Vanderveen was initially charged with first-degree murder, but a judge ruled he would stand trial for a lesser offence in November, not convinced the murder was planned.

The court heard Vanderveen acted like an uncle to Lackey following the death of the younger man's mother in 2013.

The court was told Lackey would often show up to Vanderveen's home uninvited despite being told not to do so.

His lawyer, Bernie Cugelman, said that on Jan. 30, 2019, Vanderveen motioned for Lackey to leave his house with a loaded gun.

"He gestured with the gun towards the door for the young man to get out and not come back, and when he did that, without intention, he pulled the trigger.

The bullet went into the young man's skull and killed him," Cugelman said.

Vanderveen's lawyer noted that the senior was distraught over the shooting.

"He's got to live with the guilt of having done this. He was devastated at the time he was arrested, and he's got to live with the guilt of having killed another human being that was sort of close to him that he had been helping for years."

Vanderveen was taken to the Central North Correctional Centre in Penetanguishene to wait to find out where he will serve his term.

"He'll certainly serve it in a federal penitentiary, but there are three different classifications - there's maximum security, medium and minimum," Cugelman offered.

Vanderveen was given one-year credit for pre-trial custody.