A 17-year-old youth who stabbed a security guard to death in Saskatoon in 2003 has been sentenced to three years in custody for murder.

The youth, who was 15 at the time of the offence, will also undergo three years of community supervision after his release from a youth facility, Queen's Bench Justice John Klebuc ruled earlier this month.

In his decision, Klebuc said the three-year sentence was equivalent to four years — the maximum allowed under the applicable section of the Youth Criminal Justice Act — because the youth had spent about a year in remand. The youth will undergo intensive programming aimed at rehabilitation.

By law, the youth's name cannot be published.

Landon Pitre, 25, died Oct. 20, 2003, after being stabbed in the chest.

Court heard that the youth and a companion went to the Midtown Plaza shopping mall in Saskatoon that day looking for members of the Crazy Cree gang, who had beaten up his cousin. After they met some other young people in the mall, a pursuit took them outside.

The youth, who was holding a knife, was fighting with another person when Pitre, off-duty at the time, tried to break it up.

At one point, Pitre took a blue hat off the youth and told him he'd give it back if the youth gave up the knife. Instead, the youth stabbed Pitre in the heart, took the hat and ran off. Pitre died shortly after.

At a sentencing hearing, members of Pitre's family asked that the youth serve the maximum time. A spokesman for the police service said a "severe punishment" was needed to send a message that society will not tolerate violent acts involving knives.

Klebuc was recently appointed the chief justice of the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal.