Man who killed Bradley Pogue in 2018 submits notice to appeal life sentence

The man found guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Bradley Pogue has submitted documents to appeal his life sentence.

In April, Peter Bouctsis, who was sentenced as an adult, received a sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for seven years.

BRADLEY POGUE’S DEATH

Pogue, a 24-year-old from Peterborough, was shot to death during a robbery at Brierdale Plaza in Cambridge on Nov. 19, 2018.

According to the agreed statement of facts, Pogue went to the plaza to sell a pound of marijuana.

Bouctsis, who was 17-years-old at the time, approached him with a plan to steal the drugs.

Court heard that Bouctsis pointed his gun at Pogue and asked: “What is worth more, a pound of weed or your life?”

When Pogue tried to knock the gun out the man’s hand, Bouctsis pulled the trigger.

CHARGES AND SENTENCING

Three people were ultimately charged after Pogue’s death.

Adam DeGannes pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was given a six-year sentence.

Amber Craig was sentenced to 18 months house arrest after pleading guilty to obstructing justice.

The third person was Bouctsis, who was was found guilty of second-degree murder in December 2021.

During sentencing in April, Justice David Broad said the planning of the robbery that night showed clear foresight.

He also cited Bouctsis’ behaviour while in custody, referencing reports that he continued to use and deal drugs.

The judge noted that Bouctsis has been charged with three offences while in custody: two are related to assaults he was allegedly involved in in May 2020 and July 2021, and the third is a bribery charge, related to an incident in September 2022.

Broad saved his last words for Bouctsis:

“This is your opportunity to turn your life around and devote yourself to becoming the productive member of society that I know you’re capable of.”

NOTICE OF APPEAL SUBMITTED

In a document obtained by CTV News from the Court of Appeal of Ontario, on May 5, Bouctsis submitted a Notice of Appeal, to appeal his life sentence.

A clerk told CTV News that even though an appeal has been submitted, it could take months for anything to happen or for a date to be set.

In the document, several things are listed as “grounds for granting leave to appeal/appeal.”

The document claims the judge “erred in his evaluation and assessment of the facts relied upon to find the intent necessary for second-degree murder.”

The document also said the judge provided “insufficient reasons for finding the necessary intent for second-degree murder.”

The Notice of Appeal also mentioned that the judge imposing an adult sentence was “erred,” and went on to say, “the learned judge did not properly address whether the youth sentence would have been sufficient to hold a young person accountable for his actions.” 

POGUE’S MOTHER REACTS

Pogue’s mother said was shocked when she heard last week that Bouctsis is filing an appeal.

She believes with a life sentence, an appeal shouldn’t be allowed.

“There shouldn’t even be a question of an appeal. You do the crime. You go to jail,” Hayley Schultz told CTV News in an interview on Tuesday afternoon. “My son’s little girl is seven-years-old now. She doesn’t have her daddy. He never got a second chance. He never got anything.”

She said the chance for an appeal is stopping her family from properly getting the chance to grieve.

“Our family has gone through hell and back. We just want to have some peace, whatever that may look like,” she said. “I just want him to rest in peace and with all this going on -- that’s not going to happen.”

Schultz said she will be at every hearing she is allowed to be at to show her support for her son.

“I can only pray that the justice system doesn’t fail me,” she said.

Schultz said she still thinks about her son every day and admitted that it doesn’t get any easier to mourn his death.

“It does not get better. The pain does not go away,” she said. “It doesn’t go away. It consumes my life.”