Winnipeg hotel owners plead guilty to negligence in fatal shooting of 19-year-old beer vendor employee

The corporation behind the Travelodge by Wyndham hotel, formerly the Canadiana Motor Inn, has pled guilty for failure to implement a violence prevention policy after a 19-year-old employee was killed. Joanne Roberts reports.

Owners of a Winnipeg hotel where a 19-year-old was shot and killed during a robbery in 2022 have pled guilty to negligence.

John Lloyd Barrion, who was working at a beer vendor attached to the hotel, was shot through a service window on Feb. 15, 2022, after handing over alcohol and cash.

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At the Manitoba Law Courts Thursday, the corporation that owns the Travelodge by Wyndham Hotel on Notre Dame Avenue, formerly called the Canadiana Motor Inn, pled guilty for failing to implement a violence prevention policy.

Of the three individuals charged in Barrion’s death, one man pled guilty to second-degree murder, one was convicted of second-degree murder, and one man’s charges were dropped.

19-year-old John Lloyd Barrion was shot while on shift at a Winnipeg beer vendor in 2022. (Submitted by Maria Barrion)

During Tuesday’s hearing, the defence attorney called the circumstances around Barrion’s death in the “lower range of workplace fatalities,” as the corporation is a relatively small employer who was losing money.

Manuel Barrion, John Lloyd’s father, had been looking down as he listened but audibly scoffed at this remark and had tears in his eyes.

The judge accepted a joint recommendation by the Crown and defence attorneys, which fined the hotel’s corporation $25,000 plus an additional $10,000 penalty to be used for education and compliance with workplace health and safety regulations.

The judge determined the corporation was compliant with the work and safety investigation and said it went above and beyond changes required by Workplace Health and Safety, including installing tempered bulletproof glass at the beer vendor; installing facial scanning technology and magnetic door locks; and hiring different kinds of private security to patrol the building and lots overnight.

Other safety upgrades also included a wearable panic button – a straight dial to police – for employees. That’s in comparison to the previous panic button, which was installed near the cash register, which only notified the front desk to a problem. Personnel at the front desk would have to check the security feed and determine whether to involve police.

The judge also said the owners were clearly remorseful that their negligence led to the death of an employee. She added the ongoing cost the hotel is incurring for employee security and maintain the upgrades was also proof of this.

Manuel Barrion said he had mixed feelings about the results of Tuesday’s proceedings. John Lloyd’s mother, Maria Barrion, said she was too upset to attend the hearing.

The Crown announced the hotel would be put on the market to be sold, and the fine and penalty would be paid within three months.

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