DAWSON CREEK, B.C. - Johnny (Joel) Freeman’s family delivered emotional victim impact statements Monday as Nolan Schmidt’s sentencing hearing got underway in Dawson Creek.
Freeman’s daughter Nikita was visibly emotional as she spoke about her father’s absence from important moments in her life.
“He doesn’t get to see me in my dress. He doesn’t get to walk me down the aisle,” she told the court.
Schmidt kept his eyes down and did not look at her as she spoke.
Freeman’s sister Karen also spoke about the difficulty of coping with her brother’s death.
“I try not to cry for him all the time because I know he wouldn’t want that,” she said.
She later delivered a message about the family’s loss, telling the court: “A million times we’ll miss you, a million times we’ll cry.”
Other relatives spoke about memories of Freeman and the lasting effects of his death. One recalled meeting him at a family gathering in 2011. She told the court that thoughts of him continue to haunt her.
The victim impact statements came as the Crown made its sentencing submissions. Prosecutors are seeking 12 years for manslaughter and six years for aggravated assault, to be served concurrently.
The Crown says Schmidt will have spent 660 days in custody by Thursday. With time-and-a-half credit, that would amount to 990 days of time served toward his sentence.
The charges stem from two shootings in Dawson Creek on January 19, 2025, less than 30 minutes apart.
Schmidt shot and killed Freeman with a shotgun at an apartment in the 1000 block of 102nd Avenue.
After fleeing the scene, Schmidt went to Spike’s Pub, roughly 200 metres away. The Crown told the court he calmly interacted with a patron and bartender while keeping the shotgun concealed on his person.
He then left the pub and went to the Mile Zero Apartment Hotel, where he shot Brandon Badger. Badger had to be airlifted to hospital in Edmonton for treatment.
Schmidt pleaded guilty on July 6 to manslaughter in connection with Freeman’s death and aggravated assault in connection with Badger’s shooting. He had originally been charged with second-degree murder.
Proceedings are scheduled to continue Tuesday before resuming Thursday following a break Wednesday for Remembrance Day.
The judge has not yet delivered a sentence in this case.