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Terrace, B.C. man sentenced to nine years for attempted murder

Sentence stems from shooting incident in Thornhill in 2013
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A local man has been sentenced to jail for attempted murder in a shooting incident which took place in Thornhill in 2013.

Travis Stephens was sentenced to nine years in Terrace supreme court June 20 but because he’s been in custody since being arrested and charged, he is being credited with 1.5 days for every custody day, meaning the actual time to be spent in jail now is approximately three and a third years.

Stephens was found guilty of the attempted murder of Magen Belanger following a jury trial here in March. A charge of aggravated assault against Belanger was stayed and Stephens was also sentenced for possession of a restricted firearm.

That sentence is four years and is to be served at the same time as the one for attempted murder and with time served, won’t affect the actual time in jail.

Stephens was also given a lifetime ban from possessing weapons, forfeits any weapons and must provide a DNA sample.

In that same March jury trial, Stephens was found not guilty of a charge of second degree murder in the shooting death of Eric Cardinal.

All of the charges stem from the same Sept. 14, 2013 incident in Thornhill in which Terrace RCMP arrived at a house to find Cardinal dead and Belanger wounded with non-life threatening injuries.

Stephens was 29 at the time of the incident, Cardinal 27 and Belanger 29.

An extensive manhunt followed the discovery of Cardinal and Belanger and Stephens was arrested later that day after police found a vehicle abandoned on a rural forest service road in the Kleanza Creek area east of Terrace and Thornhill.

At the time of the arrest, Terrace RCMP said the incident was drug-related, something confirmed in events recalled during the week-long trial here in March.

The jury deliberated for three days.