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David Dotto, 22, was run over August 18th, 2006. He died six days later from injuries sustained.

A 15-year-old male was charged with second-degree murder, possession of stolen property and trafficking in a narcotic. The latter charges came from an earlier investigation.

guilty plea | sentencing

It started out as words yelled between cars, then it became road rage and a deliberate hit and run that turned fatal. It ended up becoming Edmonton's 18th murder of the year.

On August 18th, 2006 a 22-year-old man was run down just before 2:00 a.m. in the Huntington Hill area near 104 A Street and 47 Avenue.

Initial reports indicated he and his friends had been followed there after two groups were involved in a fight at a Whyte Avenue area bar. One of the groups left the area in their vehicle, followed by the other.

As the first group headed home, more verbal altercations took place between the occupants of the two vehicles.

Once the first vehicle reached its destination, the three occupants got out and began walking to a home in the area.

The second vehicle followed them into the neighbourhood, stopping only a few metres away in a parking lot.

As two of the three occupants of the first car approached the second, the vehicle accelerated, struck one of them, and fled the area north on 104A Street.

EMS paramedics said the man suffered a life threatening head injury as well as abdominal injuries. He was taken to University Hospital in critical condition.

Police described a vehicle seen leaving the area as a silver, luxury four-door sedan.

They said there were five people in the vehicle – two men, including the driver, in the front and one man and two women in the back.

Police were particularly keen on locating the driver – described as a white male, approximately 20-years-old, who had brown hair with blonde streaks.

The suspect vehicle, identified later as a 2004 Cadillac, was found abandoned near 109th Street and 16th Avenue a few hours later.

For six days the man struck down clung to life in a coma in an intensive care bed before succumbing to massive head injuries.

David Dotto, 22, died August 24th, 2006.

"We held a vigil and we prayed for hours. He hung on until the last rites were read," family spokesman Elliott Chiles, Dotto's brother-in-law, told the Edmonton Sun.

"I think he knew everybody was there, and that it was OK."

As police continued to investigate the hit and run, Dotto's family pleaded for the killer driver to come forward.

"They just need to know the person that they killed," said Chiles.

"I've known him since he was six and he's never been in a fight in his life. He had a heart of gold."

Dotto, a Sherwood Park resident, was an apprentice electrician who was to start his first year of study at NAIT on August 21st. He had been out with a friend at a Whyte Avenue bar on the night of the hit and run.

At around 2:00 a.m., the friend's girlfriend picked up the pair to drive them home.

Chiles' recounted a version of events somewhat contrary to initial reports from police, stating the altercation did not begin with a fight in a bar.

While on their way home, Dotto and his friends had stopped at a red light on Calgary Trail and 80th Avenue. There they got into an argument with a group of people in a car stopped next to them.

A friend of Dotto, who wished to remain anonymous, said the driver of the other car started swearing at them, and they swore back.

Chiles said the argument continued until the car Dotto was in turned off Calgary Trail to go to his friend's house near 104 A Street and 47 Avenue.

They figured the altercation was over but the second car followed and stopped about a dozen metres down the street from the house.

The friend said the driver of the second car then "stepped on it" and drove straight into Dotto. The man flew into the air on impact, bounced off the windshield and hit the ground about five metres away.

Police believe David was "purposely struck," according to homicide Det. Bill Clark.

"The driver purposely drove at the victim," Clark said. "It's someone that's killed someone with a weapon. In this case, the weapon was a vehicle."

Chiles said the family was hoping the driver would be charged with first-degree murder.

"It is shocking and disgusting. It is so surreal that something like this could happen. Nothing in the world could bring enough justice for this," said Michelle Dotto, David's younger sister .

She said her brother "changed everyone's life for the better. Everyone is missing a piece of themselves."

Dotto was planning to move into a new home in Edmonton with his girlfriend later in 2006.

On August 28th police announced they arrested a 15-year-old male and charged him with second-degree murder, possession of stolen property and trafficking in a narcotic. He had been arrested two days previously by a police tactical team at the end of an undercover drug operation.

Under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, he cannot be named. 630 CHED Radio reported he was a resident of the south side.

Police said the youth had gang connections and they were very familiar with him, describing him as a "dial-a-doper."

The youth made a brief court appearance on the 28th and was remanded in custody. A judge said if he was found guilty he could face adult sentencing.

The 15-year-old was expected back in court in early September 2006.

Police investigators believed up to five more people, including two females, were in the suspect vehicle at the time of the incident, and asked them to come forward to provide statements.

The registered owner of the suspect vehicle was not in the vehicle at the time, but was known to the suspect.

Police said the car had been "given" to the youth who appears much older than his age.

An autopsy confirmed Dotto died of blunt cranial trauma resulting from the hit and run.

On August 29th, 2006 the Edmonton Journal published an interview with the man David Dotto was with the night he was struck.

Derek, 22, asked that his last name not be printed. He recounted what happened.

Derek said they ate at Julio's Barrio Mexican Restaurant on Whyte Avenue before heading over to Squires Pub & Wine Bar.

At around 2:00 a.m., Derek said he called his girlfriend to come pick them up. The men had become too inebriated to drive.

The trio headed south on Calgary Trail and stopped for a red light about three blocks south of Whyte Avenue.

A silver 2004 Cadillac pulled up along side, and the driver yelled something at them.

"We couldn't hear him because we had our windows rolled up so we rolled them down. He was saying, 'What the f... you want?' We started yelling back, being the young guys that we are. We were swearing back and forth – it was a very minor verbal conflict, nothing major," Derek said.

When the light turned green, Derek's girlfriend drove off.

While they didn't give the incident any more thought, the Cadillac was right behind them.

After the three parked and went to Derek's apartment building, the Cadillac drove to the top of the hill on 104A Street, turned around and came back down.

While Derek's girlfriend remained on the balcony of their suite, Derek and Dotto decided to go and see what the other men wanted.

"I was walking on the grass along the roadway about a foot from the curb. Data [David's nickname] was on the road about two feet from the curb. As soon as we got down to about a block away, the car took off at full speed right at us – it was going straight towards Data."

Derek said he thought the car would swerve away.

"He spun at least five whole revolutions in the air and came back down, landing up his back."

"As soon as he got hit, I didn't even look at the car. I watched him go up and I watched him come down and I went right to him.

"I cradled his head between my legs, because I thought his neck might be broken. There was lots of blood in his mouth and he was having trouble breathing. I opened his mouth and cleaned out some of the blood to try and clear his airway a bit. I was yelling 'Help. Help. Get an ambulance."

Derek said that over the next six days he spent as much time as possible at University hospital with his friend.

Derek was with David when he died on the morning of August 24th.

On June 5th, 2007 the young offender accused of the second-degree murder of David Dotto pleaded guilty in an Edmonton youth court.

An agreed statement of facts was entered into court.

On August 18th, 2006 the 15-year-old young offender was driving a 2004 silver Cadillac lent to him a week before by a woman.

The night before, Dotto and his friend, Derek McDonnell, had gone drinking at a Whyte Avenue establishment. At about 1:30 a.m. on the 18th, McDonnell called his girlfriend and she came to pick them up.

As they drove home they were stopped at a red light on Calgary Trail and 80th Avenue. The Cadillac, with three male teens and two female teens inside, pulled up alongside. Dotto and McDonnell gestured to the female teens and the occupants of both vehicles began taunting each other.

At one point, Dotto "mooned" the people in the Cadillac and words to the effect "Is that your momma's car" were said to the accused teen who was driving the car.

The teen followed McDonnell's girlfriend to the parking lot of her home near 47th Avenue and 104A Street and the two men got out expecting a physical confrontation.

There was a verbal exchange and the teen turned the Cadillac around and drove past the two men. After the two girls and one of the boys in the car said they had been hit with rocks or glass thrown at them, the teen turned the Cadillac around again and faced the pair.

After the two men emptied their pockets in preparation for a fight and began walking towards the Cadillac, one of the youths in the car suggested running over the pair.

The teen then accelerated and angled the Cadillac directly towards Dotto. Police estimated the car reached a speed of between 49 kmh and 58 kmh.

The front of the car struck Dotto's legs, rotating his body so that his head hit the windshield. Dotto's body then flew into the air and landed on the road. Dotto suffered a severe head injury, consisting of several skull fractures and bruising to the brain, and died six days later.

The young offender fled the scene and police found the abandoned Cadillac near 109th Street and 16th Avenue at about 8:00 a.m. A baseball bat was found on the front seat and five pieces of gravel were found inside.

Court heard the youth told his probation officer that he acted in the heat of the moment and didn't mean to kill anyone.

On June 27, the 15-year-old was ordered to undergo psychological and psychiatric testing and have a pre-sentence report prepared for a November 26th sentencing hearing.

Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the maximum sentence for second-degree murder is seven years with a maximum of four years behind bars and the balance served in the community.

The case could also see a community conference take place, where the accused and the Dotto family would meet and speak about their feelings.

On November 26th, 2007 a sentencing hearing was held to determine the fate of a 16-year-old young offencer who had earlier pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of David Dotto. The youth also faced a charge of trafficking in a narcotic unrelated to the Dotto incident.

The Crown asked provincial court judge Joanne Goss to consider the maximum punishment allowed, a seven-year sentence consisting of four years in closed custody and three years in open custody.

For their part, the defence asked for a five-year sentence with three years being served in closed custody.

Sixteen impact statements were read out in court, with friends and family speaking to their loss. And outside the court, the young offender's mother made a statement of her own.

"We have mourned their loss," the woman said. "We have prayed for their family."

Judge Goss said she would make her sentencing decision on December 14th, 2007.

On December 14th, 2007 the young offender guilty of the second-degree murder of David Dotto found out what his immediate plans would be.

Provincial court judge Joanne Goss handed the 16-year-old the maximum sentence allowed under the Youth Criminal Justice Act: four years in custody and three years under supervision in the community.

The youth also received six months for possession of stolen property and trafficking in a narcotic, charges unrelated to Dotto's death. With credit for time served, the youth had but two years and eight months of prison time left.

Prior to announcing the youth's sentence, Judge Goss described the background of the teen.

She said the young offender's mother drank frequently throughout his childhood and was recently diagnosed with schizophrenia. The teen had been diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) but never received any treatment.

He had attended 11 schools, and by the age of 14 had moved out on his own. He soon started using marijuana, abusing alcohol and dealing cocaine.

After he had struck Dotto, Goss said he left the scene and "continued on with his life until his arrest eight days later. His actions were vicious, cruel, callous and cowardly."

Goss said the killing was aggravated by the fact that Dotto "was unarmed and on foot" while the youth "was in the protection of a motor vehicle."

The judge noted that since his arrest the youth has expressed what seemed to be sincere remorse.

As the sentencing statement was read out, factors were listed that could have led to a reduced sentence: he had pleaded guilty, had worked hard at the Edmonton Young Offender Centre, and had raised his education level from Grade 8 to Grade 10 in 15 months. Also, the youth had "reconnected with his spiritual side" through the chaplain at the centre.

However, Goss said because of his background, the youth was likely to reoffend and would need the whole length of the greatest sentence available for rehabilitation.

"No other sentence will hold you further accountable for your actions and the consequences for those actions," Goss indicated in her judgement.

But she was limited in her sentencing by the youth's age, Goss said.

"For David Dotto's family and friends, the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act are in every way inadequate to address the senseless tragedy. A precious life was taken. David Dotto was a son, a brother, fiance ... a man with much to contribute to this world. The loss and the grief will never go away for David's family."

The teen made no statement in court.

Outside court, the Dotto family faced the cameras, sporting T-shirts that showed a smiling David in a picture taken just days before he died.

Explaining the shirts, David's mother Lorraine said: "Goes to show you how much David was loved and how dearly missed he is."

The woman spoke of the message the judge's sentence gave.

"Well, I'm just hoping that this will make it different for other cases that juveniles not necessarily will get away with this, that there will be justice. And it is shown today under the juvenile justice system this this kid has just gotten max," Lorraine said.

David's father felt the sentence was inadequate.

"We're glad he got the maximum ... still don't think it's enough. Still need to make changes to the justice system – especially for the youth offenders," Gerry said.

Dotto's fiancee, Tracy Atkin, noted a statement Judge Goss made.

"Just the fact that he got the maximum and the judge even made a comment about it not being enough is important," she said.

The judge had spoken of an apology made by the young offender.

"I find it really hard to believe," said Tracy. "But that might just be because I'm still really angry."

Gerry appeared to feel the same way.

"He just may be doing things – saying things to get the least sentence possible but I guess time will tell whether he's sincere or not."

Lorraine echoed the sentiment.

"I think anybody can write something down but I'm not saying he doesn't – he's not apologetic. I think time will tell what kind of life he leads when he does get out," she said.

David's mother also spoke of her suffering.

"With the help of my family and friends, and the people I work with, everybody's there to help me and support me. There's going to be a lot of struggling still I'm sure for a very long time," she said.

"We're going to struggle, but I know with God's help we're going to pull through."

The young offender will be 21 when he completes his sentence. David Dotto died at the age of 22.

deadmonton 2006 - david dotto