A man serving time for manslaughter has been sentenced to an additional year for a "hot butter" attack on a rival inmate at the Prince George Regional Correctional Centre.
Kurtis Riley Sundman, 29, was issued the term Wednesday at the Prince George courthouse for the September 2015 incident.
It was described as a preemptive strike against Justin Edward Pawluck, who allegedly had held Sundman responsible for a January 2015 drive-by shooting against his home and planned to stab him.
Images from surveillance cameras showed Sundman microwaving some butter in a plastic container then running across the unit and dumping it on Pawluck's face as he was lying on a bench talking on a communal telephone.
As Sundman ran off, he was overheard saying "I didn't shoot up your house, goof."
Pawluck suffered severe burns and blistering to his face and neck and was taken to hospital for treatment but he was not left with any lasting scars. As a result, Sundman was able to plead guilty to assault causing bodily rather than the more serious charge of aggravated assault.
Following the attack, Sundman showed guards a seven-inch shank or homemade knife, saying he had retrieved it from behind one of the hand basins in the unit's bathroom after a fellow inmate had tipped him off about the plan.
Sundman was in custody awaiting trial for the January 2015 murder of Jordan Taylor McLeod, who was just 24 years old when he was shot to death on Upper Fraser Road moments after he jumped out of a moving pickup truck to escape his assailants. The crime was committed just 10 days after Pawluck's home was shot at.
In July, Sundman was sentenced to 12 years in prison for his role in McLeod's death. Less time served, Sundman had seven years seven months and 15 days to go at the time of sentencing.
Pawluck was described as a "well-known drug trafficker" and, as a result of his reputation, a "heavy" in the unit at PGRCC where he and Sundman had been housed.
Likewise, Sundman was also dealing in drugs and during submissions on Wednesday, his lawyer, Brad Smith, said staff at PGRCC had noted during intake that there were issues between the two. Placing them in the same unit was a "recipe for an unhealthy relationship," Smith added.
Sundman has since received mail from Pawluck indicating he wants to "squash the beef" or "resolve the matter between them," Smith also said.
Prosecutor Tyler Bauman said the Crown found Sundman's story "somewhat dubious" because the shank could actually have been his and was keeping it to protect himself.
However, Bauman also noted Pawluck told police he had a list of suspects from the shooting but declined to hand it over, saying he preferred to deal with the matter himself. That, combined with Pawluck's reputation and background leading up to the attack corroborates Sundman's story, Bauman told the court.
Either way, Bauman said Sundman had the option of notifying the guards of Pawluck's plan rather than taking the matter into his own hands.
In sentencing Sundman, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Marguerite Church accepted a joint submission from Crown and defence counsels. The term is consecutive to the time Sundman is serving for the manslaughter conviction.
Given a chance to speak prior to sentencing, Sundman said he is treating his time behind bars as a "blessing in disguise" and rehabilitating himself so he is no longer the "way I used to be."
