A 28-year-old man could be headed to trial for a murder he allegedly committed in Sudbury while on bail for a crime in York Region, a crime for which he was only just sentenced.
David Pusey, 28, was sentenced Jan. 2 to five years in jail for weapons charges laid in 2020, and will find out this week if he will be going to trial for the shooting death of Andrew Mackey, killed Aug. 5, 2023.
Pusey is facing charges of second-degree murder after police reported an argument at a social gathering escalated and led to the shooting of 24-year-old Mackey. He was rushed to hospital where he died of his injuries.
Pusey is also charged with unauthorized possession of a firearm, possession of a dangerous weapon, pointing a firearm, careless use of a firearm, possession of a firearm knowing possession is unauthorized, carrying a concealed weapon, possession of a prohibited weapon, discharge firearm with intent, breach of release order, and breach of a weapons prohibition in the same case.
Pusey is currently in custody awaiting his court appearances on those 2023 charges.
But in April of 2020, Pusey got caught up in what became known as Project Stanley.
In 2019, a Vaughan home invasion revealed a substantial drugs and weapon ring that would find York Regional Police investigating from Greater Toronto all the way to Greater Sudbury.
To help identify the perpetrators, York Regional released a video of the 2019 home invasion, which showed three armed men beating a 26-year-old victim.
The weapon used was a pry bar, made by the brand Stanley, and unfortunately for the accused in the case, was unique and sold at just one store in the area. That led York Regional detectives to Home Depot where investigators obtained video evidence.
As the task force behind Project Stanley expanded its investigations from there, information led them to Pusey’s residence in Sudbury, and York Regional Police, with the assistance of the Greater Sudbury Police Service’s tactical unit, said a loaded gun, cocaine and fentanyl were all found at his residence.
The multi-jurisdictional investigation, called Project Stanley (after the brand of pry bar used in the beating) resulted in the arrests of 17 people, including a then 24-year-old Pusey.
Pusey was released on bail seven days later, and went to trial last year.
Pusey was found guilty of those weapons charges. The Crown asked for five years in jail, but according to court documents, Pusey’s defence counsel asked the judge “to consider his pre-sentence custody for an unrelated murder charge and to impose a sentence of less than six months.”
Essentially, his time in custody on the Sudbury murder charge should count against his sentence on the weapons charge.
But Justice A.A. Ghosh would only acknowledge the seven days Pusey spent in custody before being let out on bail.
Ghosh wrote in his decision that Pusey should serve four years in a penitentiary, less a credit of 14 days. That is, he is acknowledging the seven days and applying what’s known as the Summers and Marshall credit for “harsh pre-sentence custody conditions.” This is common to Sudbury, where those sentenced often credited a day and a half for each day spent in custody, due to overcrowding, lockdowns and poor living conditions, including infestations.
Should he be found guilty at trial, his sentence could be shortened by his time in custody awaiting trial on the second-degree murder trial.
Pusey in next in Sudbury court on the murder charge Jan. 15.