Joelon Verma found guilty of first-degree murder in drug-related shooting

KELOWNA, B.C. – A jury in Kelowna, B.C., has concluded that Joelon Verma deliberately planned the murder of 24-year-old Brittney Irving over 20 kilograms of marijuana.

The jury reached a verdict this afternoon, finding Verma guilty of the first-degree murder of the young woman in April 2010.

During the murder trial the court heard that Irving was a marijuana trafficker, and that Verma lured her into a wooded area near Kelowna and shot her.

Verma was immediately sentenced by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Alison Beames to life in prison, with no chance of parole for at least 25 years.

The man also faces a lifetime ban on possessing firearms, and he has been ordered to submit a sample to the national DNA database.

Irving’s mother Sandra says the sentence comes as a relief to her family. (CKFR)