Dawson Creek Man Sentenced for Killing

The guilty pleas are the convictions, and Thursday's terms are the judgment. Joel Freeman is dead, and Brandon Badger was shot the same night. Credit for time already served shortens what is left, and it does not disturb the pleas.

Nolan Schmidt, 25, was sentenced Thursday in Dawson Creek to eight and a half years in prison for manslaughter in the death of Joel Freeman, 57. He received 33 months of credit for time already served, which leaves five years and nine months. A five-year sentence for aggravated assault runs at the same time. Justice John Walker also imposed a lifetime weapons ban.

Schmidt pleaded guilty on July 6 to manslaughter and to aggravated assault. The manslaughter plea was to a lesser offense than a second-degree murder charge. Freeman was shot with a shotgun after 11 p.m. on Jan. 19, 2025, at a place in the 1000 block of 102nd Avenue. Schmidt told the court that Freeman lunged at him and that he fired out of fear. Walker said he could not conclude that Schmidt meant to shoot Freeman, and he rejected the claim that the killing was an accident.

Schmidt then shot Brandon Badger at a downtown hotel. Police arrested Schmidt early on Jan. 20, 2025.

All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.