Warning: this story contains graphic details that some readers may find disturbing.
Teens who were sentenced as adults 3.5 years ago to life in custody for the “brutal and senseless” killing of popular South Surrey mechanic Paul Prestbakmo in 2019 have had their penalty reverted to the maximum allowed under the Youth Criminal Justice Act – seven years, including four in custody.
Following a brief hearing in the B.C. Court of Appeal in Vancouver Friday morning (March 27), Chief Justice Leonard Marchand, Justice Harvey Groberman and Madam Justice Lisa Warren agreed – based on a July 2025 Supreme Court of Canada ruling that overturned an adult sentence imposed on a youth who had been convicted of first-degree murder – that the trial judge had erred in imposing an adult sentence.
“I have no doubt that the brutality and senselessness of the crime in this case will cause some members of the public to view the overturning of the sentences as an injustice,” Groberman said.
“This is, however, a court of law, bound to adhere to the dictates of statutes and the interpretations of them by a higher court.”
According to a ‘Case in Brief’ posted to scc-csc.ca, the Supreme Court of Canada – in Rex v. I.M. – ruled last summer that there must be proof beyond a reasonable doubt that a young person had the “maturity or capacity for moral judgment of an adult at the time of the offence” in order to be sentenced as an adult, regardless of the severity of the crime.
The decision – supported by seven of nine judges – “represents an important reinterpretation of the law, as least as far as British Columbia is concerned, and substantially elevates the threshold for sentencing young persons as adults,” Groberman said.
“The Crown concedes that the judge’s reasons do not satisfy the threshold that was later established in I.M.”
Prestbakmo, 45, died in the early morning hours of Aug. 16, 2019, after he was stabbed 42 times over the course of 26 seconds, shortly after he had stepped out of his residence to take out some garbage and have a cigarette.
Surrey Provincial Court Judge Robert Hamilton found the teens – whose identities are shielded by the YCJA – found guilty of second-degree murder, had set out with “a lethal intent to kill,” and in November 2022, sentenced them as adults.
Groberman said Friday that he is “not convinced” the trial judge erred.
“That cannot, of course, justify imposing a sentence longer or more severe than authorized by law.”
The young offenders’ YCJA sentence includes the four years in custody followed by three years of conditional supervision in the community. Groberman added they will receive credit for the time they’ve spent in custody since the 2022 sentencing.
Prestbakmo’s sister Elizabeth said family members were given a heads-up earlier in the week about the “most likely” outcome of the appeal. The news was met with “shock and disappointment,” she said.
“A lot of people are more than disappointed. They’re angry at the judicial system,” Elizabeth said Friday, shortly after the hearing concluded.
Prestbakmo’s brother David agreed.
“I am severely disappointed in Canada’s law change,” he said.