11-year sentence in historical Saskatoon homicide of Darren Greschuk

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Albert Paul Workman says he did not mean to shoot 31-year-old father Darren Greschuk during a botched home invasion robbery in Saskatoon’s King George neighbourhood.

Greschuk was hit in the chest. He died two weeks later in hospital.

His case went unsolved for 18 years until Workman confessed last year to accidentally firing a pistol through the front door of Greschuk’s home in the 1000 block of Avenue J South around 4 a.m. on July 8, 2006.

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Workman, 49, was sentenced on Tuesday in Saskatoon provincial court to 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter.

Crown prosecutor Andrew Clements said 26 people were identified as suspects during the prolonged investigation. No one was charged until a man went to the Saskatoon police station in April 2018 and said he had information on a Saskatoon homicide.

Robert Fischer told police that he and Workman, who was 31 at the time, came to Saskatoon from Calgary to “rob some people,” according to the agreed statement of facts.

Fischer said they rented a 9mm Beretta for $250 and met up with Bradley Mann, who identified Greschuk as “someone they could possibly rob,” Clements told court.

Mann, 45, is charged with manslaughter. His case is still before the court.

Police re-interviewed Fischer in August 2022 and he picked Workman out of a photo lineup, Clements said. Workman was arrested in Penticton, B.C. on Oct. 25, 2023 and charged with second-degree murder.

He initially denied involvement, but eventually said Fischer planned the robbery and abandoned him as soon as he entered Greschuk’s home. He said his knee got trapped in the door as Greschuk chased him through the house, and the gun went off as he pushed the door back, the facts state.

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Workman told police he didn’t know the bullet hit Greschuk until Fischer informed him a week later.

Appearing in court in a suit and handcuffs, Workman told Greschuk’s family he wanted to turn himself in but Fischer, who still had the gun, threatened to kill him and his family if he did.

He said he immediately severed ties with Fischer. He said they met through work and their friendship revolved heavily around drugs and alcohol, which he stopped using, promising himself he’d never get involved with criminals again.

Court heard Workman has no prior criminal record and incurred no criminal charges over the last 18 years.

“The man that was present in 2006 isn’t the man that stands before you now. I truly wish I had the courage to come forward instead of carrying this secret all these years, living in fear. And I hope the family can start to heal and get the answers they deserve,” Workman said.

Greschuk’s son, Dustin Sansom, said he accepts Workman’s apology, but still questions how he could hide his involvement for so long.

“We had to sit here 18 years with no closure,” Sansom said after Workman’s sentencing. He said there were still options for Workman to come forward, even if he was scared.

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“If he’s telling the truth with his story, OK, but at the same time, why didn’t you drop the gun?” Sansom asked.

He was 11 years old and sleeping over at his grandma’s house when his father was killed. His victim impact statement noted he was robbed of learning many things from his father, who owned a towing and tree removal business.

“Not only did this person ruin my life and my childhood, but he also ruined my relationship with some family members,” Sansom wrote.

He said he’d never heard Fischer’s name until Tuesday, adding “Now I have someone else to be afraid of.”

Clements confirmed that Fischer is not facing charges.

Judge Doug Agnew accepted the 11-year sentence, a joint submission from the Crown and defence. He said carrying a loaded gun dramatically increases the risk of hurting someone, whether intended or not.

“It’s something of a mystery to me how this came to be, despite everything that I’ve heard,” Agnew remarked.

The facts state that Workman and Mann had never met, but do not state whether Workman knew Greschuk, or why Greschuk was chosen as the target.

Defence lawyer Nick Robinson said 2006 was an anomaly in Workman’s life. He now has a home in Penticton where he rescues animals and “is as straight an arrow as they come,” he said.

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“Good people occasionally do bad things, and he does take responsibility.”

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