No jail time for man who fatally stabbed senior in Vancouver

A stabbing that left one person dead was under investigation in Vancouver on Dec. 15, 2020. (CTV News)

A man who stabbed a senior to death in Vancouver's Biltmore Hotel building in 2020 has been given a conditional sentence for the killing, meaning he will not serve any jail time if he remains on good behaviour in the community.

Anthony Warren Woods, 31, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the stabbing death of 72-year-old Alex Gortmaker, who died of a single knife wound to the chest on the floor of the former hotel on Dec. 15, 2020.

The judge's sentencing decision, which was published online Friday, indicates the stabbing arose out of a minor altercation between the two men inside an elevator in the building, which now serves as a single-room occupancy residence.

Woods had been drinking with a friend when they entered the Biltmore around 2 p.m. and took the elevator to the sixth floor. They continued drinking and took drugs inside a suite for about half an hour before leaving, pounding on doors and yelling as they walked down the hallway.

"Their disruptive behaviour resulted in tenants complaining to the manager," B.C. provincial court Judge Reginald Harris wrote in his Oct. 2 decision.

Perpetrator leapt from balcony

Woods and the unidentified friend rode the elevator up to the seventh floor and down to the ground, where Gortmaker and a woman entered. After 30 seconds, the woman exited on the third floor, leaving Gortmaker in the elevator with Woods and his companion.

"While travelling between the third and fifth floors, Mr. Gortmaker said something to Mr. Woods while slightly pushing him," the judge wrote.

"During this interaction, Mr. Woods produced a knife and stabbed Mr. Gortmaker once in the upper left chest/collar bone area."

Woods then pushed the bleeding 72-year-old out of the elevator at the fifth floor where he fell to the ground. Woods rode the elevator back down to the second floor where he made his way to a balcony and leapt out onto a street-level electrical box and walked north on Prince Edward Street.

"When Mr. Woods jumped from the balcony, witnesses reported that he appeared frantic," the judge wrote.

Inside the hotel building, bystanders rushed to help Gortmaker while waiting for emergency responders but he died at the scene.

An autopsy later revealed he died from a single stab wound to his upper left chest, which pierced his lung and caused extensive bleeding.

A toxicology report showed the victim had "unknown quantities" of alcohol, cocaine and fentanyl in his system but there was no evidence he was feeling the effects of the substances when he died, according to the judge's summary of the findings.

Woods confessed to police

Woods, then 27 years old, was located by police and arrested several hours later.

"Investigators believe there is no relationship between the victim and suspect," said Vancouver police spokesperson Const. Tania Visintin said in a statement shortly after his arrest.

"This is an unfortunate case where the victim and suspect had an altercation that tragically resulted in Mr. Gortmaker getting stabbed."

An emotional Woods voluntarily admitted to the stabbing during an initial police interview. "He described the minor altercation leading to the stabbing, he expressed he that wanted to apologize to the family and he indicated that wished it had never happened," according to the judge's summary.

Despite his confession, Woods was released without charges or conditions after the interrogation. He remained free for nine months until, on Sept. 10, 2021, a manslaughter charged was approved and Woods was arrested on a warrant later that day, the judge wrote.

Woods remained in custody for seven months before his release the following April on conditions that he live at a recovery house and undergo treatment for addiction.

The judge noted at sentencing that Woods complied with his conditions, continues to live at the recovery house and is "actively engaged in addiction treatment."

'His life was stolen'

Sandra Gortmaker, the victim's niece, provided a victim impact statement to the court in which she described her uncle as a peaceful and loving man.

"I wish to convey to you today the profound and enduring impact the sudden and tragic loss of my beloved Uncle Alex," she wrote, describing nightmares about his death that still haunt her.

"My Uncle Alex was brutally taken from us in a senseless act of violence," she continued. "His life was stolen, his joy and sense of humour stolen. This leaves a void that will not ever be filled and scars that may never fully heal."

Crown prosecutors sought a four-year prison sentence for Woods, less credit for time he had already served in custody, while Woods's defence lawyer argued for a two-year conditional sentence to be served in the community, citing his lack of a criminal record and his prospects for rehabilitation.

Lack of culpability

The judge was ultimately convinced of the offender's lack of culpability in the killing, noting the abuse he suffered as a child and his intellectual disabilities.

"I find as a fact that his level of culpability was substantially reduced. My conclusion is based on the following collective factors; Mr. Woods's direct and indirect experiences as an Indigenous person, his significant cognitive deficits, his ADHD and to a lesser extent his state of intoxication," the judge wrote.

"Mr. Woods's impairments must not be considered in isolation from his experiences as an Indigenous person, that is they must be viewed collectively and in doing so it is inescapable that his impairments directly contributed to his offence."

The judge ordered Woods to serve a conditional sentence two years less a day followed by three years of probation.

"I recognize the sentence is below the range typically imposed, however, I find the combination of Mr. Woods's background, his cognitive deficits, his rehabilitative progress and his prospects justify a departure from the range," the judge concluded.

Under the conditions of the sentence, Woods must stay in his residence at a recovery home in the B.C. Interior for 24 hours a day for the first year, followed by a year of overnight curfew before he is released on probation. He must not possess any weapons or use drugs or alcohol, and he must keep the peace and be on good behaviour.