Calgary man sentenced to life in prison

A District judge on Monday sentenced a 41-year-old Calgary man to life in prison without parole for a shooting incident that happened near Eureka in 2015.

Lincoln County District Judge James Wheelis sentenced Michael Ilk, of Calgary, Alberta, to 160 years in Montana State Prison, two 80-year sentences for both charges of attempted deliberate homicide and 20 concurrent years per count of aggravated assault, without parole.

A jury convicted Ilk in June of two counts of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault, about 14 months after he was arrested at the Eureka Law Enforcement Center. Law enforcement officials reported that Ilk had fired a handgun 13 times at his ex-girlfriend and another Eureka man, striking them both twice at the construction site where she worked, then followed them to the law enforcement center. During his trial, Ilk maintained his argument of self-defense, stating it was the other man involved who shot first after the woman asked him to bring a gun to the construction site. The woman portrayed the end of their two-year relationship as violent and aggressive before she turned him away.

In his decision, Wheelis said he determined the sentencing—twice the sentence recommended by the state— in consideration of public safety.

“I don’t see any way to protect the public with him outside of prison,” Wheelis said in his decision. “Who can predict what he will do. Who could have predicted this?”

Ilk’s defense attorney Sean Hinchey called five witnesses to testify at Ilk’s sentencing hearing, including three Calgary law enforcement officials, two men who said Ilk was among their best friends and a woman who had dated Ilk several years ago.

One of the two men was Michael Ferguson, Ilk’s brother-in-law. Ferguson testified that Ilk was well liked, popular among those who knew him, and had a positive impact on the people in his life. Ferguson said if anything were to happen to him or his wife, he would have no issues putting their children in Ilk’s care.

“People are drawn to him. People love being around him,” Ferguson said. When he had heard about Ilk’s 2015 incident, “that deviated from everything I know and love about (Ilk).”

Additional witnesses included Ilk’s aunt, who read a prepared statement saying she believed law officials had not properly gathered evidence in the case.

In between testimonies, Hinchey left the courtroom to gather his final two witnesses, leaving Ilk at the defendant’s table, alone. He looked out the window in silence.

Two officers from the Lincoln County Detention Center also testified on Ilk’s behalf, noting that he was not a problematic inmate; Detention Officer John Burn said he was possibly the more cooperative inmate he’s seen in 20 years.

Prosecutor and Lincoln County Attorney Bernard Cassidy did not call any witnesses to testify at the sentence hearing.

Before Wheelis’ decision, Ilk, who will turn 42 years old next week, read his own statement.

“I’m not a horrible and violent person,” he said. “I believed I needed to defend myself. If I could change that day, I would in a second.”

Wheelis said that while he doesn’t doubt the testimonies given in Ilk’s defense, relationships can bring people to make uncharacteristic actions.

“If there’s one single thing to create a fissure in character, a relationship is one of them,” Wheelis said.

An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Ilk's sentence as 200 years. He will serve 160 years in Montana State Prison.

Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 293-4124 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.