B.C. judge sentences man to 4 years for fatal stabbing in Kamloops

James Dylan Sanford was arrested at the scene in Kamloops, B.C., on Sept. 12, 2020. (Kamloops RCMP)

A 35-year-old Kamloops man has been sentenced to four years behind bars for stabbing a 34-year-old man to death outside a city centre motel.

James Dylan Sanford was charged with second-degree murder in the Sept. 12, 2020 killing of Daniel Myles outside the Acadian Inn.

Following a brief trial in January, a jury convicted Sanford of the lesser charge of manslaughter, finding the single, fatal stab wound was the culmination of several weeks of threatening behaviour from the victim towards Sanford, his girlfriend and their pets, who lived in a room at the motel.

Both men were involved in "high-risk lifestyles" involving drugs, B.C. Supreme Court Judge Sherri Ann Donegan wrote in her sentencing decision Tuesday.

At the time of his death, Myles was estranged from his girlfriend and had been threatening Sanford and others who he believed were concealing her location from him.

"They included threats to kick in Mr. Sanford’s door, smash his window, spray (a reference to bear spray or mace) his room, take his dog, hurt Mr. Sanford, cut Mr. Sanford’s throat, stab Mr. Sanford, and kill Mr. Sanford," the judge wrote.

"To demonstrate his commitment to fulfilling these threats, Mr. Myles also wrote that he was 'totally prepared to go to jail tonight.'"

Myles once texted images of weapons to Sanford, including a photo of an axe, a rifle and ammunition, writing "all gonna fit in my bag," and adding that he was "5 (minutes) away" from Sanford's residence.

Later, in an incident caught on camera by the Acadian Inn manager, Myles showed up at the motel and, while holding a large knife in his hand, threw a rock through Sanford's window. The next day he returned to the motel, this time spraying mace through the window, the court heard.

Myles was arrested for the mace attack on Sept. 4, 2020, and was charged with uttering threats and possession of a weapon. He was released the same day on conditions that he not return to the motel.

GASOLINE POURED ON MOTEL PORCH

One week later, Sanford's window was again smashed with a rock and his unit's back porch was doused in gasoline.

Police searched the area and found a gas can discarded under the deck, which the judge found "beyond a reasonable doubt" was left by Myles while Sanford, his girlfriend and their pets were in the unit.

"After sitting inside the room for a while, not knowing if Mr. Myles was going to try to light the place on fire or what was going to happen, Mr. Sanford made a decision," the judge wrote. "He made a decision to go outside with his dog. He took a large knife, in a sheath, with him."

Sanford spotted Myles immediately, handing his dog's leash to a bystander before chasing after him, the court heard. Myles ran and tried to get into a parked taxi that he had called a few minutes earlier but was forced to keep running.

Sanford swiped with the knife at Myles, who eventually fell to the ground in front of the motel. Sanford kicked the man and then stabbed him once in the back, breaking a rib and puncturing his lung, according to the judge.

"Given the frenzy of the moment, I do not infer that Mr. Sanford intended to stab Mr. Myles in the specific location of Mr. Myles’ body that he did," the judge wrote.

911 CALL AND ARREST

Both men walked away from the altercation; Sanford back to his room, where he stashed the knife, and Myles up the stairs of a residence across the street, where he banged on the door and woke the homeowner before collapsing on the step.

The homeowner called 911 at 6:36 a.m. Paramedics transported Myles to the Royal Inland Hospital where he was pronounced dead 30 minutes later.

A police officer canvassing the area for witnesses spotted Sanford walking his dog around 8 a.m. Sanford had changed his clothes and initially denied knowing anything about the stabbing but said that his room smelled like gasoline.

After speaking with more witnesses, police caught up with Sanford, who was still walking his dog 30 minutes later, and arrested him for the stabbing.

During a police interview the following day, Sanford admitted to stabbing Myles but insisted it was in self-defence and that he had no intention of killing the man.

The jury ultimately rejected the self-defence argument, but the judge found at sentencing that Sanford's actions "occurred in a frenzied moment" after weeks of threats and violence perpetrated by the victim.

Sanford, who is originally from Nanaimo and had no prior criminal history at the time of his arrest, was credited with 321 days of pre-sentencing custody, reducing his four-year sentence to just over three years remaining.