Trial underway for accused trafficker charged in 2 EPS officer deaths, Pizza Hut shooting - BERITAJA

It’s been much than 3 years since 2 constabulary officers were killed during a home unit telephone successful westbound Edmonton, conscionable days aft a pizza transportation driver was changeable successful the caput pinch the aforesaid weapon the shooter past turned connected himself.

While the teen down the crimes will ne'er guidelines proceedings because he took his ain life, the young man who sold him narcotics and the semi-automatic, assault-style weapon is facing 17 charges and appeared successful tribunal connected Monday.

As the proceedings sewage underway, caller specifications from a 71-page-long agreed connection of facts besides emerged about the crimes committed by teenage shooter Roman Shewchuk successful March 2023.

Dennis Tyler Okeymow, now 21, opinionated proceedings for his portion successful the deaths of Edmonton Police Service officers Travis Jordan and Brett Ryan, on pinch 16-year-old Roman.

For those 3 deaths, he was charged pinch manslaughter pinch a firearm and pleaded not guilty.

Okeymow besides pleaded not blameworthy aft being charged pinch causing bodily harm to pizza transportation driver Rich (Richard) Albert and the shooter’s mother, Kateryna Shewchuk.

Okeymow did admit to trading Roman the weapon and ammunition utilized successful the deadly attack, arsenic good arsenic trading narcotics to the minor.

Both shootings happened wrong a week of each different successful March 2023, successful the city’s Westmount Mall area, erstwhile Okeymow was 18.

The March 12, 2023, shooting astatine a Pizza Hut adjacent Westmount Mall near Albert, who was moving his 2nd occupation arsenic a pizza transportation driver, pinch imperishable encephalon injuries.

The 2nd shooting happened 4 days later astatine the gunman’s family flat conscionable crossed the road.

Rare manslaughter criminal case

The mobility cardinal to the proceedings is, because Okeymow sold Shewchuk the weapon — is he besides responsible for the shootings that followed?

EPS Staff Sgt. Erik Bjarnason, the lead detective connected the firearms investigation, told reporters astatine the Edmonton Law Courts that manslaughter charges of this quality are “very rare” but person been utilized earlier successful cases for illustration the 2005 Mayerthorpe massacre.

That’s erstwhile 4 RCMP officers were ambushed and killed earlier the shooter, James Roszko, besides took his ain life connected the agrarian spot northwest of Edmonton.

Shawn Hennessey and his brother-in-law, Dennis Cheeseman, admitted to giving Roszko a weapon and a thrust to his property, wherever the RCMP had been guarding a Quonset hut.

The 2 men ended up serving clip down bars for their actions starring up to the attack.

In the Edmonton crimes, the Crown alleges Okeymow should person reasonably known the risks of trading a semi-automatic battle style weapon to a 16-year-old pinch nary firearm licence and is truthful responsible for the crimes committed pinch it.

Defense lawyer Jamil Sawani based on holding the seller of the weapon responsible for everything that happened aft sets a vulnerable precedent.

Relationship betwixt Roman and Okeymow

According to the agreed statements of facts, Okeymow and Roman met successful the summertime of 2021, erstwhile they were some teenagers (17 and 15), and their narration was based connected trading and buying drugs.

Okeymow was 17 and trafficking forbidden substances via dial-a-dope methods astatine a commercialized level, constabulary said.

The tribunal documents authorities Roman bought narcotics respective times from Okeymow betwixt 2021 and 2022: chiefly marijuana but besides occasionally psilocybin (magic mushrooms) and cocaine.

The 2 would matter aliases connection via Snapchat erstwhile Roman was arranging to bargain drugs, sometimes communicating successful supplier slang aliases colloquialisms. Police recovered complete 600 messages.

Roman utilized the Account “romanshewchuk” and show sanction “roman” connected Snapchat. Dennis Okeymow utilized the Account “menace2yeg122” and the show sanction “menace.”

In early 2023, Okeymow sold Roman a STG 44 firearm on pinch 80 rounds of ammunition for $2,500 — good complete the mixed unit worth of $650.

That circumstantial firearm had been purchased legally astatine Cabela’s successful 2016 but changed hands a fewer times successful the ensuing years, constabulary determined.

The semi-automatic weapon wasn’t forbidden astatine the clip of the 2023 shooting, but has since been banned successful Canada.

The agreed connection of facts said location was nary grounds that Okeymow provided Roman pinch immoderate information instrumentality for the safe retention aliases carrier (trigger-lock,cable-lock, case, safe etc.), aliases usage (ear aliases oculus protection) of a firearm.

The past fewer times the 2 talked successful early February of 2023, Roman sent Snapchat messages asking for cocaine astatine a discount because Okeymow had only provided 80 rounds of bullets alternatively of 100 arsenic initially promised.

After the fatal constabulary shootings, Okeymow messaged Roman “Yo you perceive what happened” and “Right by your crib” — not knowing Roman was already dead.

He past deleted their Snapchat history, but constabulary still saw the exchanges done Roman’s phone.

Even though Snapchat messages vanish aft a group clip period, constabulary were capable to retrieve the data.

Shooter’s intelligence wellness struggles

Roman Shewchuk’s parents many times expressed concerns about his well-being.

Court heard the teen had a documented history of intelligence wellness issues and was diagnosed pinch schizophrenia.

Throughout 2022, Roman knowledgeable repeated intelligence wellness crises requiring respective constabulary interventions, emergency section visits, and psychiatric hospitalizations.

During these episodes, tribunal heard he displayed clear psychotic symptoms, including auditory hallucinations — including the belief that parasites had been implanted successful his cervix by aliens — illusion beliefs involving demons and possession, and paranoid aliases bizarre behaviour, arsenic reported by some family members and objective staff.

During a six-week psychiatric admittance successful the outpouring of 2022, he was prescribed anti-psychotic medicine and records showed his information improved erstwhile he stopped utilizing weed while hospitalized — but he quickly reverted to his aged ways aft being discharged.

Not taking his meds and resuming cannabis usage contributed to worsening psychotic symptoms and declining functioning.

Roman was apprehended by constabulary nether the Mental Health Act and admitted to the Royal Alexandra Hospital’s Child Psychiatry Unit successful the autumn of 2022.

He again improved while hospitalized, but erstwhile released, became non-compliant again and didn’t spell backmost to schoolhouse astatine Ross Sheppard High School.

From the opening of 2022 to his decease connected March 16, 2023, Roman had respective interactions pinch EPS owed to his deteriorating psychiatric condition.

Family members often contacted constabulary owed to his psychosis, aggression, unpredictable behaviour, and escalating information concerns wrong the home.

Pizza Hut shooting

The Pizza Hut shooting happened adjacent 133 Street and 114 Avenue, conscionable earlier 12:30 a.m. connected Sunday, March 12, 2023.

Rich Albert, past 55, was moving a 2nd occupation helping pinch late-night play pizza deliveries astatine the Pizza Hut To Go.

The shooting happened about half an hr earlier closing.

He was opinionated by the antagonistic erstwhile a masked gunman opened the beforehand door, pointed a semi-automatic 22-calibre gun, changeable him successful the caput from little than 3 feet away, and walked out.

The full relationship took conscionable six seconds — leaving the Edmonton man bleeding connected the level pinch a traumatic encephalon wounded and coiled that destroyed 1 of his eyes.

He was rushed to the infirmary successful captious information and remained location for respective months, about dying from a encephalon abscess.

He had mediocre cognitive usability and it took Albert months to beryllium capable to beryllium consistently oriented to time, spot and situation, fto unsocial beryllium capable to do thing much complex.

The shooting near Albert pinch important lifelong injuries, incapable to activity and requiring aesculapian attraction for the remainder of his life.

Albert mislaid show successful his near eye, still has slug fragments lodged wrong his brain, experiences short-term representation loss, worry spells and periodic bouts of depression.

Police dogs attempted to way the shooter down, but mislaid the scent adjacent the adjacent Woodcroft Edmonton Public Library.

Police investigators person ne'er been capable to find a motive for the Pizza Hut shooting. Roman ne'er attempted to bargain thing aft shooting Albert successful the caput astatine adjacent range. The 2 men were strangers and constabulary wished the onslaught was random.

A slug cartridge casing recovered from the segment of the March 12 Pizza Hut shooting matched the weapon recovered astatine the March 16 flat scene.

DNA recovered connected a weapon extracurricular the Pizza Hut besides matched Roman’s DNA.

EPS officers killed during home unit call

The constabulary shooting happened 4 days later astatine the Baywood Park flat analyzable adjacent 114 Avenue and 132 Street, conscionable crossed Groat Road from the portion promenade containing the Pizza Hut.

Roman lived location pinch his parents, Katerina and Ronald Shewchuk.

On the nighttime constabulary officers Const. Brett Ryan and Const. Travis Jordan were shot, the tribunal heard Roman had been making unusual noises and talking successful different voices wrong his bedroom.

His mom tried to grounds the sounds from the hallway erstwhile Roman caught and attacked her, choking her until she was unconscious.

When she woke, she fled to a neighbour and sewage thief calling 911, arsenic her choked, sore pharynx made taking difficult.

Officers Jordan and Ryan responded to the home unit call.

When they arrived and met pinch Katerina, she expressed fearfulness her boy would termination himself.

She followed the officers arsenic they walked wrong and up to the second-floor apartment. The officers knocked and asked to travel successful and talk to Roman.

The 3 were alternatively met pinch a barrage of 10 bullets, about of which deed them successful their heads.

Jordan was deed by 2 bullets, and Ryan was changeable 4 times. One slug was recovered from Kateryna (a 2nd went done her) and 1 slug was recovered lodged wrong Roman. Three bullets were recovered successful the hallway.

The officers died instantly — they were ambushed truthful quickly, neither had clip to raise their ain guns and occurrence back.

Kateryna was changeable done the cervix and mouth/jaw, but was capable to flee.

Before backup arrived, Roman changeable himself successful the head. His begetter Ronald was wrong the flat and watched his boy perpetrate suicide.

After that, constabulary dispatch lit up pinch truthful galore 911 calls, the dispatcher routed the calls straight to constabulary radios while frantically trying to scope Ryan and Jordan.

When the 2 didn’t respond, 911 dispatch ordered each disposable officers successful the metropolis to get to the flat complex.

Air 1 helicopters, canine units and tactical teams descended arsenic roads betwixt the analyzable and the adjacent Royal Alexandra Hospital were unopen down to facilitate a constabulary ambulance escort.

The injured officers were rushed to the awesome trauma centre, but were officially declared dormant upon arrival.

Jordan, 35, had been pinch EPS for eight-and-a-half years, and Ryan, 30, had been pinch the work for five-and-a-half years. Both were joined and Ryan’s woman was pregnant pinch their first child.

Kateryna was recovered not responsive and staring disconnected into abstraction pinch captious injuries. She was rushed to the infirmary and underwent surgery. One of her teeth was recovered successful the flat hallway.

Roman was recovered successful the beforehand hallway pinch the weapon beside him. Police later searched his room and recovered 50 unspent rounds of ammunition successful a heart-shaped tin, on pinch different grounds connecting Roman to some shootings.

Undercover Operation Miguel

Months aft the shootings, constabulary began to fishy Dennis Okeymow had provided the weapon and an investigation was launched to stitchery much accusation from him.

He was arrested successful July 2023 connected an unrelated matter by Sherwood Park RCMP, successful bid for constabulary to get him connected to an undercover serviceman pinch the codification sanction Miguel.

That serviceman was progressive successful a staged postulation extremity and Okeymow was driven past, wherever the bull appeared to beryllium detained for a firearms offence. The 2 were past housed successful the aforesaid compartment astatine the RCMP detachment while their conversations were monitored.

After being celled together for respective hours, the 2 were released wrong minutes of 1 another. Then, different undercover serviceman posing arsenic Miguel’s woman offered a thrust and dropped their fishy backmost disconnected adjacent his home.

That November, Okeymow was arrested for firearms trafficking and different offences while astatine his location adjacent 160 Street and 98 Avenue successful westbound Edmonton. His telephone was seized and analyzed by forensic investigators. Okeymow was past charged pinch manslaughter and respective different crimes.

The families of the slain officers were successful tribunal Monday, watching the proceedings.

The proceedings will proceed Tuesday pinch Crown witnesses.