A 60-year-old Burnaby man who shot his brother and sister-in-law with a shotgun during a Mother’s Day visit two years ago will spend another 11 years in jail.
A B.C. Supreme Court jury found Dominic Botticelli guilty last December of two counts of attempted murder and numerous weapons charges.
Citing the “very serious and despicable nature” of the crime, which left his two victims with “permanent life‑altering injuries,” B.C. Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Ball recently sentenced him to a total of 15 years in jail minus credit for time already served since his arrest.
The charges date back to a shooting during the Mother’s Day weekend two years ago at his mother’s house on Broadway near Kingsford Avenue, where he had been living.
His brother, Tony Botticelli, and Tony’s wife, Candace, had come over to visit his mother on May 11, 2017.
A confrontation ensued over frequent angry outbursts Dominic Botticelli had had, during which he sometimes broke things at his mother’s place, according to testimony presented in court.
His brother asked him to leave.
The confrontation culminated at about 5 p.m., with Dominic Botticelli, Candace and Tony outside by a set of stairs, according to Candace’s testimony.
Tony prevented his brother from going back up, the court heard, and Dominic Botticelli then went into the garage, came out with a shotgun and shot Candace.
When Tony went to her aid, his brother shot him at close range.
Dominic Botticelli then left in his SUV, according to the couple’s testimony.
He was arrested later that day.
Botticelli maintained his innocence throughout the trial, testifying he had left the house shortly after he was asked to leave.
The jury, however, found him guilty on two counts of attempted murder, two counts of aggravated assault and a number of weapons charges.
At a sentencing hearing in April, Crown prosecutor Brendan McCabe called for a jail sentence of between 14 and 16 years, noting Dominic Botticelli’s lack of remorse and the devastating injuries he inflicted on his victims.
Defence lawyer Sandy Ross recommended a jail sentence between eight and nine years, arguing the shooting had been a spontaneous act involving no planning and deliberation.
Besides the 15-year sentence, Botticelli was handed a lifetime weapons prohibition and banned from “communicating in any manner” with Candace and Tony Botticelli while serving his sentence.
