(File photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

RCMP investigation

One of accused in Gatzke case sentenced for manslaughter

Feb 25, 2022 | 2:53 PM

One of the accused individuals facing a charge related to the death of Ryan John Gatzke in Battleford in 2019 was sentenced for manslaughter after pleading guilty on Friday.

Charles Michael Lewis McLean, 25, of North Battleford pleaded guilty to manslaughter when he appeared in the Court of Queen’s Bench in Battleford.

Justice Brenda Hildebrandt sentenced McLean to four years in custody, the lesser end of the average sentence range. McLean has 638 days left in custody remaining, when factoring in credit for time served. He was also ordered to a 10-year firearms prohibition and must provide a DNA sample.

Acting for the Crown in the case was prosecutor Jennifer Schmidt, with Randy Kirkham for the Defence.

The court ordered a publication ban on the details of the sentencing hearing until all the accused individuals have gone through the court process.

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Three others are still facing charges in the case.

Isaac Melko of North Battleford is charged with second-degree murder, break and enter with intent to commit an indictable offence, disguise with intent, carry a weapon for the purpose of committing an offence, possession of a firearm without a licence, and unauthorized possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle. Melko will stand trial at Court of Queen’s Bench in Battleford, with a date still to be set. He is next scheduled for a private pre-trial conference March 18.

Jacob Joseph Ballantyne of Edam is charged with second-degree murder, break and enter with intent to commit an indictable offence, disguise with intent, carry a weapon for the purpose of committing an offence, pointing a firearm, possession of a firearm without a licence, unauthorized possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle, and possession of a restricted firearm while prohibited. He will stand trial at Court of Queen’s Bench in Battleford with a date to be scheduled.

An 18-year-old male North Battleford resident was 17 years old at the time of incident and cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. He is charged with second-degree murder, break and enter with intent to commit an indictable offence, disguise with intent, carry a weapon for the purpose of committing an offence, possession of a firearm without a licence, unauthorized possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle, and possession of a restricted firearm while prohibited

Gatzke, 27, was found with serious injuries in a Battleford home on Oct. 18, 2019, and later declared deceased after being taken to hospital.

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow