CALGARY -- A Calgary man was sentenced to five years in prison for fatally stabbing a would-be mail thief who was trying to jimmy his postal box with a knife.

Justice Suzanne Bensler agreed Monday with defence lawyers Greg Dunn and Tyson Dahlem that a sentence less than the six- to eight-year punishment sought by the Crown was justified.

Dunn and Dahlem had suggested a four- to five-year term for Ahmed Abdulkadir Mohamed.

Mohamed earlier pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the Aug. 27, 2010 stabbing death of Ahmed Mahmud Mohammad.

Mohamed admitted knifing Mohammad once in the torso during a struggle in the entryway of the confessed killer's apartment building.

According to a statement of agreed facts, Mohammed had gone to the building and demanded another tenant let him in to go to Mohamed's suite.

He told the convicted killer he was there to pick up some mail for a mutual friend, Ahmed Daar, and demanded he be given access to the postal box, Robertson said.

When Mohamed refused, Mohammad grabbed a knife and went down to the main level where the mail boxes were located.
Mohamed grabbed his own weapon, a chef's knife with an 18 cm serrated blade, and followed.

Once he arrived in the foyer, Mohamed saw Mohammad trying to pry open the mail box with his knife and an argument ensued.

Bensler said it was aggravating Mohamed grabbed such a large weapon to intimidate the deceased, but noted he immediately called 911 afterwards, indicating he didn't intend to kill the victim.