Whitehorse judge orders murderer out of court after outburst

Convicted murderer Dean Johns was ordered out of a Whitehorse courtroom Thursday as he and Mark Lange were sentencedfor the slaying of Carcross hotelier Bob Olsen.

In June,Johns and Lange were found guilty of second-degree murder for the 2004 Christmas Eve slaying.

Olsen, Johns's uncle, had been savagely beaten in the lounge of his shut-down hotel in Carcross, a community about 75 kilometres south of Whitehorse.

Johns stood as he was sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for15 years. He then asked, "Can I say something?"

"No, your time to speak is over. Be seated," said Yukon Supreme Court Justice Leigh Gower.

"Or what?" replied Johns before sitting down.

Refused to stay silent

But as sentencing began for Lange, Johns became agitated and blurted, "It's all lies."

When he refused to be quiet, Gower ordered police to remove him.

Crown prosecutors had argued that both men should serve at least 15 years before applying for parole.

But Gower sided with jurors, who believed Lange played a minor role as an accomplice, and sentenced him to a minimum 10 years in prison.

Still, Gower said he gave no weight to Johns's dramatic confession earlier this month during the pair's sentencing hearing. Johns told the court that his co-accused was innocent of the slaying for which they were both convicted.

In videotaped evidence presented to court, Lange had admitted to participating in Olsen's beating, while Johns denied having anything to do with it.

Career criminal

But after swearing to tell the truth during his sentencing hearing earlier this month, Johns recanted, apologized to his family, then to Lange.

"Mark had nothing to do with the fight," he told the court. "I drank a bottle of whiskey that night. I was drunk. I beat my uncle to death and I don't even remember how the fight started."

Johns said Olsen was sober at the time of the beating, which occurred after Olsen lectured him about being a "punk" and a "loser."

Gower described Johns as a 260-pound drug-addicted bully who beat his elderly uncle to a pulp. Then he quoted a psychologist who described Johns as a callous, deceitful and irresponsible career criminal with no place in normal society.

In his closing address to the jury, Crown prosecutor John Phelps said there's no doubt Johns and Lange together committed murder.

He said the pair robbed Olson for booze and drugs, and killed him in the process. He described their explanations to the police and in court as "self-serving lies."

Both men get credit for the 20 months they've already served.