A man who robbed a Burnaby poker game at gunpoint and later shot a sex worker to death in Surrey has been has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Ali Khudhair, 26, pleaded guilty in April to robbery and to using an imitation firearm to commit a crime.
He also pleaded guilty to manslaughter in a separate incident.
Poker robbery
The robbery and firearm charges relate to a March 3, 2021 incident at a Burnaby condo – most of it captured on security video, according to a ruling this month by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Heather MacNaughton.
Khudhair and his co-accused, Ange Hatot, had been invited to a private poker game at a Goring Street apartment, the ruling said.
After Hatot lost all his chips (Khudhair was a spectator at the game), the pair robbed the other players at gunpoint.
“Because the Crown has been unable to prove the weapon involved, he was charged with using an imitation weapon,” stated MacNaughton's ruling. “Nonetheless, the victims responded as if they believed the weapon was real.”
Khudhair took a Rolex from one player’s wrist and $1,500 from an envelope in the host’s fanny pack.
The host was then forced to open a safe in his bedroom and handed over another $10,000.
He was then struck in the face with a handgun while Khudhair demanded more money.
Khudhair and Hatot left the apartment together moments later.
“The whole situation was highly planned and deliberate,” MacNaughton said in her ruling.
‘A single shot’
Two months later, on May 4, 2021, Khudhair exchanged text messages with Keryane Arsenault, a sex worker who hosted clients at her Surrey townhouse.
The two agreed to meet at the townhouse, but MacNaughton said video evidence of the incident shows Khudhair “never intended to engage Ms. Arsenault’s sexual services.”
Instead, he planned to rob her, MacNaughton said
Unbeknownst to him, however, she was not alone. Her partner was in another room and came to help when he heard “strange sounds” coming from the bedroom.
He saw Khudhair brandishing a handgun and positioned himself between Arsenault and Khudhair.
“The partner tried to push Mr. Khudhair out of the bedroom," stated the ruling."Mr. Khudhair yelled at the partner to get back. Mr. Khudhair backed out of the bedroom, and the partner followed him. Mr. Khudhair started to back down the stairs, while the partner continued to move toward him. Mr. Khudhair fired a single shot.”
The bullet traveled through Arsenault’s forearm and lung before lodging in a door jamb. She was rushed to Royal Columbian Hospital but died of her injuries.
Arsenault began videoing the incident with her iPhone before the shot was fired, according to the ruling.
‘Vulnerable’
MacNaughton said the incident was “somewhat closer to near murder than near accident,” as the chance of someone being killed was “highly foreseeable.”
The fact the killing arose in the context of Khudhair trying to rob or take advantage of Arsenault was an aggravating factor in the case, according to MacNaughton.
“As a sex worker, Ms. Arsenault was one of the most vulnerable members of our society,” she said.
MacNaughton sentenced Khudhair to a total of 12 years in prison for the killing and the poker robbery.
With credit for time served in pretrial custody, he has just over nine years left on his sentence.
A refugee who came to Canada from Iraq via Syria in 2015, Khudhair is a permanent resident and could be deported after serving his sentence.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on Twitter @CorNaylor
Email [email protected]
