Life sentence for Calgary man who shot drug dealer in the back

Meghan Grant · CBC News

· Posted: May 23, 2025 7:04 PM EDT | Last Updated: May 23

A Calgary antheral who fatally changeable a cause trader successful the backmost has been handed a beingness sentence.

In November, Sam Frank Barbera was convicted by a assemblage of second-degree execution successful the decease of Jonathan Huebner, 39.

After proceeding sentencing arguments earlier successful the week, Justice David Labrenz handed down Barbera's condemnation connected Friday, ordering him to service astatine slightest 11 years earlier helium tin use for parole. 

Back successful June 2022, Barbera was utilizing drugs and surviving successful a garage successful Forest Lawn.

• Accused murderer tells jurors helium 'panicked' aft being attacked and tried to instrumentality 'warning shot'

The nighttime earlier the killing, Barbera and his woman Sidney had been up each night, doing ace and meth. 

On June 14, 2022, Huebner and his woman arrived astatine the garage. 

• Calgary antheral fatally changeable implicit cause debt, assemblage hears

Huebner told Barbera that Sidney owed him money. 

Barbera testified that Heubner's woman had held Sidney against her volition astatine a location for 3 days earlier that month. 

Since then, helium said Sidney was paranoid and had brought location a shotgun. 

The 2 men fought. 

After they separated, Barbera picked up a shotgun. He fired 1 shot, hitting Heubner successful the backmost arsenic helium was headed retired of the garage.

Barbera testified helium meant to occurrence a informing changeable and "didn't cognize this was going to happen."