(File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Crime

Ride-sharing shooting incident results in four-year prison sentence

May 6, 2021 | 4:00 PM

A man who shot his driver in the back after an attempted robbery has received a four-year prison term.

Derek Cook, 21, was sentenced April 28 at Prince Albert Provincial Court after pleading guilty to aggravated assault and breach of probation.

The case dates back to Jan. 4, 2021. Police officers responded to the 500 block of 22nd St. E after a report of a shooting. At the time, police indicated one man was taken to hospital with a gun shot wound to his back.

Speaking to paNOW on the condition of anonymity, the victim explained how he offered to provide two women in the city a ride through the Facebook group, P.A. Safe Rides. After multiple stops, including a trip to Sturgeon Lake, the driver arrived back at an address in the city’s east hill area where Cook, soon after, climbed in. When the passengers asked to go to another location, the driver, explaining he was tired, declined. At that point, the victim claims one of the women attempted to steal his keys.

Cook, who had been sitting in the backseat, suddenly got out and moved to the driver’s side window where he stabbed the victim in the arm, and then threatened to kill him if he didn’t give them the truck. The driver responded by speeding off.

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“Suddenly, I hear a loud whistle and my entire body feels electric. Suddenly, I am no longer tired or thirsty, everything was happening in slow motion,” the victim described, not realizing at the time he had been shot.

Roughly 400 m later, the driver pulled over and called an ambulance for help, he said. He then decided to drive towards the police station.

“One moment I’m driving about 40km/h when suddenly I lose consciousness and wake up in front of a tree with sore legs and a sore back,” he said.

In addition to the four year prison sentence, minus 65 days of remand credit, Cook also received a 10-year firearms ban.

The victim, who spent nearly three weeks in hospital, and still has a bullet lodged in his rib, expressed to paNOW his frustration with the sentence and the realization how close he came to having his life cut short.

“I spoke with the doctor who worked on me and he said I lived by a sliver of a sliver and that I should be thankful to be alive,” he said. “I don’t want pity. I want others to know what will happen in the worst case.”

As of Thursday, the P.A. Safe Rides group has 4,700 members. According to a disclaimer message posted on the page, the administrators and moderators are not responsible for any lost, stolen or damaged items and are not liable for any injury that may occur.

The group’s main administrator Joey Turner previously told paNOW it’s his understanding the shooter was not one of the actual scheduled passengers, and added there’s been no other violent incidents. He also explained the page is monitored full time.

“We come to terms and agreements with all passengers and drivers and yes, there is a process to join the page and questions to be answered and if they aren’t followed, they will either be declined to join or they will be messaged questions to answer from us,” he said.

A 27-year-old woman was also charged in connection to the robbery/shooting incident and faces a number of charges including robbery with a firearm and assault causing bodily harm. Jeanique April’s matters are scheduled to be spoken to on May 12.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell