'Depraved' beating, drugging, dismemberment of young man nets 8-year sentence for Calgary drug dealer

< warm>WARNING: This story contains computer graphic inside information

A Calgary do drugs dealer who instigated an attack that led to a beating, fatal fentanyl shot and dismemberment of a young man was handed an eight-year prison sentence Friday. 

Originally charged with second-degree murder in the April 2022 death of Keanan Crane, Darren Bulldog pleaded guilty to manslaughter last month after negotiations between defence lawyer Anna Konye and prosecutors Aaron Rankin and Britta Kristensen.

Crane was fatally attacked on April 7, 2022. Parts of his dismembered body were found a month later on the Mînî Thnî First Nation, formerly known as Morley. 

In handing down the sentence, Court of King's Bench Justice David Labrenz called the killing "shocking."

Calgary drug dealer who directed fatal attack pleads guilty to manslaughter

During the plea, Labrenz heard that Crane was homeless, dealing drugs for Bulldog and owed him $300 after some of the drugs he was meant to sell were confiscated by police. 

On the night he was killed, Crane showed up at the home of Jason Tait, along with two friends. Several people were at Tait's home at the time. 

Shortly after the victim arrived, Bulldog confronted him about the debt and then "signalled" to the others in the room, who began to assault the 22-year-old, according to the agreed statement of facts. 

Several people in the home began assaulting Crane and then bound his hands and feet with duct tape before administering a "hot shot" — a lethal dose of fentanyl.  

Crane's body was then taken to a bathroom, where he was dismembered. 

"It's senseless and incomprehensible to understand how somebody, even with the prospects of wanting to enforce a drug debt ... Would resort to employing individuals … to administer a beating and a lethal injection of fentanyl," said Labrenz.

"The crime is depraved."

During the attack, Crane's two friends were prevented from leaving and their cellphones were taken from them. They were also "threatened with violence if they spoke about what they saw," according to the agreed statement of facts. 

Bulldog forced the pair to write down their addresses.

Weeks after his disappearance, some of Crane's remains were found west of the city. Nearby, police found a cigarette butt with Bulldog's DNA on it. 

With credit for the time he's already spent in custody, Bulldog has about four-and-a-half years left to serve.

Last month, Tait was convicted of accessory after the fact to murder and has yet to be sentenced.

Meghan Grant is a justice affairs reporter. She has been covering courts, crime and stories of police accountability in southern Alberta for more than a decade. Send Meghan a story tip at meghan.grant@cbc.ca.

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