A Sudbury man who pleaded guilty to three counts of manslaughter and one count of arson causing bodily harm was sentenced to 17 years in Sudbury court today, Sept.19.
Considering time in pre-sentence custody, Jared Herrick will serve 13.5 years concurrently.
Herrick was accused of deliberately setting fire to a Bruce Avenue townhouse in 2021, which resulted in the deaths of Jamie-Lynn Lori-Lee Rose, Jasmine Marie-Claire Somers and Guy Armand Henri, and severely injured another.
Both Herrick and Phillippe Jeannotte, Herrick’s co-accused, were originally charged with three counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder, arson and conspiracy to commit murder after the fatal fire. Both men pleaded guilty to lesser charges.
Herrick and Jeannotte were also originally charged with conspiracy to commit murder along with two others, Fernand Bolduc and Liam Stinson. These charges were dropped against Herrick and Jeanotte. The charges against Bolduc were stayed Sept. 15, 2022, and will be held for a year to give the Crown time to gather more evidence.
Details of the crime cannot be disclosed due to a publication ban that covers the case until Stinson's Superior Court judge and jury trial, scheduled to take place March 18 to May 3, 2024.
Herrick entered the courtroom dressed in a white t-shirt and grey jogging pants, having been brought directly from the jail. His hair was long, his feet and hands were restrained, though his hands were released once he sat in the prisoners box. Once the judge entered the courtroom, Herrick’s attorney, Len Walker, asked if Herrick could sit at the defence table, as he had throughout the sentencing, which was granted.
At Herrick’s four-day sentencing hearing last month, his lawyer, Len Walker, asked for 13 years, minus time-served credit.
Assistant Crown Attorney David Kirk sought an 18-year sentence, again, minus pre-trial custody credit.
Jeanotte received 16 years less time served, leaving him with a sentence of 13 years to be served concurrently. Though Herrick’s family was stoic, the families of the victims were visibly upset, shaking their heads through tears.
In his decision, Justice Patrick Boucher said both Jeanotte and Herrick had an equal role in the fire, and therefore, they should have similar sentences, barring some mitigating factors.
Therefore, he said, Herrick would serve 17 years, less 3.5 years for time served in both Sudbury District Jail and Centre North Correctional Centre (CNCC). Herrick earned 1.5 days for each of the 844 days he served.
This means Herrick will serve 13.5 years for the three counts of manslaughter, and 13.5 years for arson causing bodily harm; all concurrently, (to be served at the same time).
Herrick will also be required to adhere to a lifetime weapons ban, the requirement to submit his DNA to the national data bank, and a non-communication order. This order listed 40 people Herrick is not to communicate with, including Jeanotte, Bolduc and Stinson. Herrick was also ordered to pay $250,000 to the City of Greater Sudbury in restitution for the three city-owned geared-to-income units on Bruce Avenue damaged in the fire.
Jenny Lamothe is a reporter with Sudbury.com.
