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Dangerous offender assessment ordered for ringleader in 'Five Guys' slaying

Could face indefinite prison

A B.C. Supreme Court Judge has ordered an assessment for a “Five Guys” killer to determine whether he should be designated a dangerous offender — a label that could come with an indefinite prison sentence.

Jayden Eustache, 27, was one of five men charged with murder in the death of Troy Gold, who was beaten to death on Oct. 1, 2018.

Eustache and three of his co-accused eventually pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges. The fifth accused was acquitted following trial.

Court has previously heard Gold was targeted by Nathan Townsend after Townsend’s luxury vehicle was torched in the early-morning hours of Sept. 29, 2018.

Eustache was one of a team of thugs Townsend assembled to beat and disfigure Gold. Townsend told the men he wanted “digits” — meaning a finger cut from Gold’s hand — to prove the beating took place.

Eustache and another man lied to Gold to lure him into a vehicle and then drove to Lac du Bois. Once there, it was Eustache who began the beating, which was described in court as “a surprise attack” with an aluminum baseball bat.

Gold was left for dead following the beating. His partial remains were found 12 days later. Court heard they were “skeletonized by animal scavenging.”

Eustache and the other attackers did remove one of Gold's fingers and took it to Townsend in an empty sunglasses bag.

During a brief hearing Thursday at the Kamloops Law Courts, Crown prosecutor Sarah Firestone asked B.C. Supreme Court Justice Dev Dley to order an assessment for Eustache to determine whether he should be classified a dangerous offender or a long-term offender.

“It is Crown’s application to have Mr. Eustache remanded for an assessment to determine whether he might be found to be a dangerous offender or a long-term offender,” she said.

“We’ve set out the basis for that in the application.”

Dley granted the application, meaning Eustache will be assessed within 60 days. A report is expected to be completed within 30 days following the assessment.

Dangerous and long-term offender designations are reserved for the most serious offenders in Canada. Dangerous offenders can be locked up indefinitely, while long-term offenders are jailed and then monitored closely in the community for an extended period. Both provisions are in place for violent criminals who are deemed likely to reoffend.

Eustache, Townsend, Darian Rowel, Sean Scurt and John Daviss were arrested and charged with second-degree murder on Oct. 18, 2019 — more than a year after Gold's slaying. Daviss has since been acquitted while each of the other four have pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges.

Eustache, who is being held at Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre, is the only one still awaiting sentencing. Lawyers will return to court on Aug. 15 to set a date for Eustache’s next court appearance.



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