A young B.C. man who ran over and dragged a gas station attendant to his death was released with conditions to a halfway house Tuesday, despite having violated his parole twice when previously released.
In 2005, Darnell Pratt was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to nine years in prison for running down 24-year-old Grant de Patie in Maple Ridge. Pratt was 16 years old when he hit de Patie with a stolen car and dragged him for 7.5 kilometres.
Pratt has been serving time in the maximum security Kent Institution in Agassiz, B.C., but had his sentence reduced to seven years on appeal. His sentence will now expire on July 22.
He was first granted statutory release in June 2010, but his freedom was revoked when he failed to meet curfew less than two days later.
In November 2011, a Canada-wide warrant was issued for Pratt's arrest when he walked away from his halfway house. Twelve days later, the 22-year-old surrendered to police in Victoria.
De Patie's death sparked the creation of Grant's Law that was intended to protect late-night workers
