The man convicted of second-degree murder in a shooting at the Captain’s Quarters Hotel six years ago has lost his appeal of the verdict.

Brandon Phillips was 27 when he held up the bar with a loaded shotgun late on the night of October 3, 2015.

63-year-old Larry Wellman, originally from Corner Brook, intervened but was shot and died a short time later.

Phillips’ lawyer argued the trial judge made mistakes with key evidence, and that the jury’s verdict was unreasonable, ultimately claiming the gun went off by accident. The defence also said the Crown never proved that Phillips was the masked gunman that night.

However, the three Appeal Court judges said evidence of that was, quote, “plenty.”

Phillips was in a relationship with former premier Dwight Ball’s daughter at the time of the shooting.

It was Ball—who was preparing for a provincial election at the time—who went to police with key information in the case.

Phillips, meanwhile, won’t be eligible for parole until 2027