Judge rules out half century prison term for Edmonton c-store killer

A man convicted of killing two Edmonton convenience store clerks will not be eligible for parole for 25 years.

A judge handed down a life sentence Friday to Colton Steinhauer and did not follow a jury's recommendation that the killer serve 50 years before he can apply for release.

The jury found Steinhauer guilty in May of two counts of first-degree murder.

Two other accused were earlier convicted in the shooting deaths of the Mac's employees during holdups at two different stores on one night in December 2015.

Court heard that Steinhauer shot Ricky Cenabre at a south-end location.

Steinhauer was also sentenced to eight years for the two robberies, which are to be served at the same time as the life sentence.

A victim impact statement was read by Cenabre's niece at a sentencing hearing Thursday. She said the three killers don't deserve compassion.

"Seeing the video, they never had any compassion at all. So why give it to them?'' said Mary Puerto.

According to an agreed statement of facts read in court, Steinhauer, Laylin Delorme and a 13-year-old boy entered the first Mac's store with their faces covered. They beat and robbed Karanpal Bhangu before Delorme shot and killed the clerk.

Fifteen minutes later, the trio robbed and assaulted Cenabre at the second store. Steinhauer shot him with the same pistol Delorme had used in the first robbery.

Cenabre and Bhangu, both immigrants, had been working alone on night shifts when they were killed.

Bhangu, 35, had moved from India four months earlier. Cenabre, 41, had come to Canada from the Philippines.

Delorme was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life with no parole eligibility for 25 years. He is appealing the verdict and the Crown is appealing the parole period.

The teen was convicted of two counts of manslaughter and sentenced to three years.