A Leamington man has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years.
Andrew Cowan, 45, was sentenced Tuesday for the crash that claimed the life of 53-year-old Edward Witt.
Cowan was found guilty by a jury on Aug. 23.
Witt was killed after the truck he was in, driven by Cowan, struck a flower bed and became airborne before crashing into the second floor of a building in Leamington in October of 2012.
During the trial, Ducharme had argued the two men made a suicide pact while the crown said the crash was intentional and Witt was not suicidal.
A judge rejected a request for a mistrial on Monday.
Cowan's lawyer, Pat Durcharme, argued his client did not have a fair trial because of the relationship between the crown and judge.
Cowan addressed the courtroom Tuesday after receiving his life sentence, saying “I'm not guilty. That's all I'm going to say."
The sentence also comes with a weapons ban for life.
Cowan already plans to appeal his conviction. In fact, he has talked James Lockyer, a Toronto lawyer who has handled several high profile cases.
Ducharme expects the appeal will be filed in court by Dec. 21, but Cowan will remain in custody until the application for appeal is filed.
