Teen gangster sentenced as adult to life in prison

A Winnipeg teen convicted in the gang-on-gang murder of William Moar inside a Main Street eatery has been sentenced as an adult to life in prison with no chance of parole for seven years. Dylan Chatkana, now 19, was convicted of first-degree murder in the February 2013 killing following a jury trial last year.

Justice Sadie Bond agreed to a Crown motion seeking an adult sentence for Chatkana, ruling a youth sentence would not hold him accountable for his actions. The maximum youth sentence for first-degree murder is 10 years, at least four of which must be served in the community.

Moar, a 24-year-old member of the B-Side street gang, was gunned down inside Johnny G’s restaurant in the early morning hours of Feb. 15, 2013. Chatkana was a member of the rival Mad Cowz street gang.

Bond said there was no evidence Chatkana was pressured to kill Moar, noting he later bragged about stepping in after the planned shooter “pussied out.”

“Mr. Chatkana went to the restaurant to kill Mr. Moar and he carried out that plan,” Bond said. “The killing was in a manner of an execution… Mr. Chatkana’s actions were not impulsive. He made a deliberate decision to commit the crime for the gang.”

The teen was one of three Mad Cowz street gang members arrested in connection with the killing. Morgan Bone, 22, who was supposed to be the shooter before he backed out at the last minute, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced in November to 12 years in prison. A third co-accused, Akech Ajak, 25, is still awaiting trial.

The Mad Cowz and B-Side gangs have been at violent odds since the 2004 killing of 14-year-old Mad Cowz associate Sirak Rezene.

Court heard evidence at trial Moar had spent part of the evening prior to the killing at the Opera nightclub in the Exchange, where security video captured a gang rival throwing a drink on Moar.

Later, shortly before 2 a.m., the three accused and other gang members followed Moar in a van to Johnny G’s. Chatkana, his face concealed behind a bandana, armed himself with a sawed-off rifle, walked into the restaurant and opened fire as Moar walked out of the restroom.

By: Dean Pritchard

Source: Winnipegsun.com