NEWMARKET, Ontario, July 8 (UPI) -- A Canadian prosecutor says he will ask the court to hand out an adult sentence if it convicts a teen of first-degree murder in the death of a policeman.
Prosecutor Peter Westgate told a court in Newmarket, north of Toronto, he would ask for the maximum sentence if it convicts the 15-year-old boy of first-degree murder in the death of York Regional Police Constable Garrett Styles June 28, CTV News reported Friday.
Sentenced as a youth, the boy could get six years in jail; sentenced as an adult, the punishment could be life in prison.
Injuries kept the boy from attending Thursday's court proceedings. He is said to be paralyzed from the neck down in the accident that killed Styles.
The officer was crushed by a minivan allegedly driven by the boy, who is in a Toronto hospital. Tuesday, thousands of uniformed officers gathered in Newmarket to mourn Styles' death.
Styles was standing beside the van when it accelerated, dragging him 300 yards into a field before it rolled on top of him.
