Guilty pleas in Darchuk hunting death

By Nigel Maxwell

There will be no trial for a Prince Albert man accused in the shooting death of another hunter in the fall of 2017.

At a hearing Monday in Nipawin, Austyn Adamko entered guilty pleas to charges of careless use of a firearm and unauthorized possession of a firearm.

The case has been adjourned to March 25 for sentencing at Melfort Provincial Court.

Adamko was originally charged with four charges in relation to Darchuk’s death, including criminal negligence causing death. Defence co-council Brian Pfefferle told paNOW that charge would likely be dealt with at the next court date.

“There is no agreement between the parties as to the appropriate sentence, but we expect the criminal negligence offences to be either stayed or withdrawn,” he said.

Prince Albert’s Jordan Darchuk was shot and killed south of Weirdale in September, 2017. The two men were both hunting in the area at the time of the incident but did not know each other.