Attempted murder charges withdrawn for men on trial for killing Good Samaritan, injuring second victim (original) (raw)
A Calgary judge has withdrawn the attempted murder charges against two men accused of murdering a Good Samaritan and injuring a second man in a shooting at a rural intersection.
Elijah Strawberry and Arthur Penner each charged with 2nd-degree and attempted murder
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Colin Hough, died in August 2024 when he was shot on a rural road east of Calgary while working for Rocky View County. (GoFundMe.com)
A Calgary judge has withdrawn the attempted murder charges against two men accused of murdering a Good Samaritan and injuring a second man in a shooting at a rural intersection.
Elijah Strawberry and Arthur Penner remain on trial for second-degree murder in the death of Colin Hough, 45.
Hough and Matthew Andres were both shot on Aug. 6, 2024. Andres survived the attack.
On Wednesday, Court of King’s Bench Justice Shane Parker told jurors he was withdrawing the attempted murder charges faced by Strawberry and Penner.
“The attempted murder of Matthew Andres is no longer a part of these proceedings,” said Parker.
“You should not speculate as to the reasons why I made this decision.”
After the charges were withdrawn, Rebecca Snukal and Alexandra Seaman — lawyers for both Strawberry and Penner — declined to call evidence.
Closing arguments will take place Thursday.
Then, on Friday, the judge will issue his final instructions on how to apply the law to deliberations. Jurors will then be sequestered until a verdict is reached.
Stolen truck set on fire
Earlier in the trial, jurors heard that on the afternoon of Aug. 6, 2024, Andres was working for FortisAlberta as a surveyor at a rural intersection north of Chestermere when he heard a truck pull up that sounded like it had a flat tire.
Police would later determine that the white Dodge Ram truck with teal rims had been stolen in Calgary the night before.
Andres testified that someone wearing a face mask got out of the truck, walked towards him and then shot him in the arm before demanding the keys to his work truck.
When the masked person walked toward the truck, Andres said he ran away as fast as he could.
Hough pulled over
By then, the stolen truck with a flat tire had been set on fire.
The smoke likely caused Rocky View County employee Colin Hough to pull over.
Andres testified that two figures rushed toward Hough’s truck, firing three or four shots.
Hough managed to get out of his truck and collapsed in the middle of the road.
The would-be car jackers took off in Hough’s truck.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Meghan Grant is a justice affairs reporter. She has been covering courts, crime and stories of police accountability in southern Alberta for more than 15 years. Send Meghan a story tip at meghan.grant@cbc.ca.