AndrewBlakeToronto, Canada – Randall Barrs, a well-known defense attorney who survived being shot twice, said his attacker’s 12-year sentence is “ludicrous.”
“What went down today would not have gone down if it was a Crown attorney that was shot, or a judge, or a police officer,” Barrs told reporters after the sentencing on Dec. 19, 2017.
Grayson Delong, 52, was sentenced after he was given a plea deal for shooting Barrs outside his office in 2016, the Toronto Star reported.
Superior Court Justice John McMahon said Delong shot Barrs twice in the leg at close range as the victim was placing items into the trunk of his car outside his office at about 3:15 p.m. on Sept. 20, 2016.
“If the accused had the specific intent to kill the victim, he clearly would have targeted the victim’s torso or body mass or his head,” McMahon told the court, following common defense attorney logic.
McMahon called the shooting a “brutal targeted attack in broad daylight.”
Delong pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, disguise with intent, discharging a firearm with intent, and possessing a loaded firearm.
He originally faced 15 charges, including attempted murder, according to the Toronto Star.
Halton Regional Police officers were following Delong at the time he shot Barrs. Police shot Delong immediately thereafter.
The Toronto Star reported that Barrs said he plans to sue the police for gross negligence because they had Delong under surveillance, but failed to stop Delong from shooting him. The shooter was disguised as a construction worker and wearing a wig when he shot Barrs.
Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said he was open to speaking to Barrs, but said, “I certainly can’t guarantee a different outcome.”
“I will say being on the victim’s end of the judicial system can tend to be a not satisfying one,” Saunders said. “I’ve heard that over and over again, walking through my homicide cases and other types of investigations, it has left a very bad taste in the victims’ mouths.”
Barrs would not give a victim impact statement, and wasn’t in court for the sentencing. He said he didn’t want to be part of the process, the Toronto Star reported.