One of four people charged in connection with a homicide case last fall has pleaded guilty.
Darcy McGee, just hours after pleading guilty to committing an indignity to a dead body, was able to walk away from the provincial offences courthouse and will begin serving three years of probation.
All other charges related to the case against McGee were withdrawn.
McGee was sentenced to 18 months in jail, a sentence jointly proposed by the Crown and defense.
He had already served 303 days in jail, which works out to be around 455 days as he was granted 1.5 days for every day served in pre-sentence custody.
This left about 85 days on the books to serve in jail.
Defense lawyer David Heath argued for additional credit because of the conditions McGee had to deal with at Maplehurst Correctional Complex in Milton.
Heath noted McGee served 110 days in lockdown, 88 of which was a complete lockdown where he wasn't able to leave his cell.
In addition, he noted 160 days was served in a cell with two other people, or "triple bunked" where someone had to sleep on the floor.
"For most of that 160 ... days, Mr. McGee was that individual who found himself sleeping on the floor in his cell," Heath said.
Justice Nicole Redgate acknowledged the "inherently abhorrent" crime that took place, calling the nature and circumstances "deeply troubling."
In her sentencing, she said she must consider the "very difficult conditions" McGee faced at Maplehurst.
During lockdowns, there is limited access to showers, phones and other basic services.
She agreed to giving the additional 85 days as time served to "demonstrate the court's condemnation of the difficult pre-sentence custody, as experienced by Mr. McGee."
McGee must report to a probation officer, with conditions including a weapons ban and a no-contact order with several people.
He is also banned from going within 20 metres of where those people are known to be, with the exception of incidental contact if McGee is getting social services.
An investigation began last October after the discovery of a body outside the city, later identified by police as ‘Kenny,’ a 45-year-old who had been reported missing.
The investigation included a lengthy search at a home on Guelph Street.
In early November, McGee – along with Christopher Hanley, Jason Richardson and Lindsay Zinger – was charged with accessory after the fact murder.
Last month, the three men were charged with committing an indignity to a dead body.
Zinger was charged with being an accessory after the fact to the same charge.
When offered the opportunity to speak in court on Friday, McGee expressed remorse for what happened.
“If I could go back in time and redo what I did, I would call the police, do the right thing," he said. "I was confused, I was on drugs and I really feel bad and remorseful. I apologize to the family, and any friends that Kenny had.”
Details of the incident, including evidence read into the record, are protected due to an ongoing publication ban.
The matters of the three co-accused in the homicide case are still before the courts.
McGee also pleaded guilty to possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000 for an unrelated incident that took place in March 2023.
That charge centres on an incident where McGee went to Royal Distributing on Woodlawn Road and took possession of a baseball cap and left the store.
“When he exited the store, staff stopped him and items fell from his clothing,” Crown attorney Mark Eshuis told the court.
“He then left the store, went to a nearby motor vehicle and got into the motor vehicle.”
Eshuis said police showed up and arrested him. Police found the stolen property in his possession, with items totalling just over $2,000 in value, including “propane tanks, butane canisters, hardware gloves and other retail items.”
Defense lawyer David Heath told the court McGee has prior experience in the trades, and the hope is to return to that line of work when he’s released from jail.
“Mr. McGee has got to, at this point – and communicates to me that it is his intention to – follow through with his sobriety now, and that he has the supports ready to go,” he said. “He knows where he is going to go.”
