A real Hitman - 'I only shoot people to kill them'

[Hush]

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolo ... 315963&p=2


Hitman: 'I only shoot people to kill them'
Man sentenced in murder of Saanich drug dealer discusses business of killing
Richard Watts, Times Colonist
Published: Saturday, December 01, 2007

Brent William Van Buskirk liked to talk about killing, boasted about being the youngest killer for hire and reflected on making a career of being a hitman.

Yesterday, Van Buskirk pleaded guilty to two adult counts of conspiracy to commit murder in the months after he turned 18. One relates to a plot to blow up a Surrey night club, the other to an unnamed person whom Van Buskirk discussed cutting up and putting in crab traps.

Two weeks ago, he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the stalking and killing of 24-year-old Victoria drug dealer Ravi Nutt on Aug. 29, 2004, when Van Buskirk was only 17.
Murder victim Ravi Nutt. He was shot and killed outside his Saanich house in August 2004.View Larger Image View Larger Image
Murder victim Ravi Nutt. He was shot and killed outside his Saanich house in August 2004.

Details of the case, and Van Buskirk's identity, emerged in a Vancouver courtroom yesterday after a publication ban was lifted as a result of the guilty pleas on the adult charges. The case was transferred to Vancouver after Van Buskirk's lawyer argued pre-trial publicity had been too damaging.

Sentenced under the Youth Criminal Justice Act for killing Nutt, Van Buskirk received the maximum youth penalty of 10 years with no more than six to be served in custody. With time already spent in custody, his sentence was reduced to four years.

Prosecutor Steve Fudge argued yesterday that Van Buskirk should receive two sentences of nine years each for the adult crimes, to be served consecutively and concurrent with the first-degree-murder sentence.

"We have a man who has already killed once, whose professional ambition is to be a hit man, engaged in two separate conspiracies with two separate individuals to kill two, possibly even more individuals," said Fudge.

Justice Harvey Groberman, in passing sentence for the murder, noted Van Buskirk was motivated by profit and "advancement in a career as a professional killer."

Court heard that Van Buskirk lay in wait in bushes for Manjinder (Ravi) Singh Nutt, then shot and killed him as he entered his home on Lavender Avenue in Saanich.

Before sentencing, the Crown read transcripts of conversations taped by Saanich police during their investigation of the Nutt murder, in which Van Buskirk discusses the killing business.

He tells one friend it's all about money and there are always professionals for hire. "It doesn't matter how tough you are."

When his pal asks if he has turned pro, Van Buskirk says, "Not yet, but I'm working towards it." And he agrees with his friend that he's likely the youngest hired killer around.

In another taped conversation, Van Buskirk dismisses an offer to shoot someone in the kneecaps for $8,000. "I only shoot people to kill them," he says.

In yet another, Van Buskirk boasts to another friend: "I've got enough bodies under my belt that I can go shoot 10 more people."

The two conspiracies to commit murder were also uncovered during wiretap surveillance.

In the transcript of one call, Van Buskirk and a co-accused discuss killing one person and dismembering the body in order to "make him disappear."

"Just jump him, chloroform him, tie him up and take him out fishing," Van Buskirk is recorded as saying. "I'll cut him up and put him in crab traps."
Hitman: 'I only shoot people to kill them'
Man sentenced in murder of Saanich drug dealer discusses business of killing
Richard Watts, Times Colonist
Published: Saturday, December 01, 2007

In the other conspiracy, Van Buskirk and his co-accused discuss blowing up a building, likely a nightclub. The two agree it doesn't matter how many people get killed.

Mohammed Abu-Sharife, 27, pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to commit murder in connection with that case and received an eight-year sentence, reduced to four with time already served.

In a letter read to the court, Van Buskirk's father, Bill, apologized to the Nutt family and said he is still having a hard time reconciling the crimes with the son he has "known and loved."


Brent Van Buskirk, who never turned or looked at his father or other family members, also apologized to the Nutt family.

"No amount of words or apology can compensate for what I have done," he said. "I can hardly believe it was really me."

Van Buskirk's lawyer, Jim Heller, had little chance to address the issue of sentencing on the conspiracy charges yesterday, so Groberman set the matter over until next Friday.