‘My worry was so much less’
Mother of slain Stampeder was glad he was in Canada
Renee Hill was relieved when her son Mylan Hicks was signed by the Calgary Stampede rs earlier this year.
The 23-year-old football player’s mother said she was much less worried about Hicks with him far away in Alberta than when he lived in his hometown.
“After he went to Canada, people used to ask how’s Mylan doing, and I’d say, well he’s not here and that’s a good thing,” she told Postmedia in an interview from Detroit on Monday.
“My worry about him was so much less with him up in Canada — before that, he was a young African-American man living in Detroit, and I worried all the time.”
But just months after the young man was signed to the Stampeders’ practice squad as a defensive back, Hicks was shot and killed outside a Calgary nightclub.
Hicks was at the Marquee Beer Market, along with some of his Stampeders teammates, in the early morning hours Sunday when a confrontation between two groups boiled over to the parking lot, according to police.
“There was an altercation that involved several people inside the nightclub, and was believed to have been over,” Insp. Don Coleman told reporters Monday.
“Then once the bar lets out, the altercation continued and was escalated in the parking lot.”
Shots were fired and Hicks sustained life-threatening injuries.
He was rushed to hospital, where he died.
Calgary police announced Monday that a 19-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the case.
Nelson Tony Lugela was arrested along with two other suspects near the scene following the shooting.
“They returned to the area on foot and were pointed out by witnesses and were arrested by patrol officers that were in that area,” Coleman said.
The other two suspects have since been released from custody.
Lugela was known to police and had outstanding warrants, according to Coleman.
Court records show he faced a number of charges last year, including possession of a prohibited firearm.
Police don’t know yet what prompted the initial altercation inside the Macleod Trail nightclub.
Investigators have interviewed more than 20 witnesses about the incident, according to Coleman, including other members of the Calgary Stampeders.
A firearm was later recovered near the scene, and investigators are determining if it’s the same weapon involved in the shooting. A vehicle believed to have been used by the suspects to flee the scene was also seized in the 4000 block of Stanley Place S.W. and is being processed by the Calgary police forensic crime scene unit.
Chris Norman, a close friend of Hicks who played football with him in high school and at Michigan State, remembered the young man as a very thoughtful person.
“He was so much fun to be around, always laughing and always joking,” he told Postmedia.
Norman said he was shocked to hear of his friend’s death.
“I have never even heard of that kind of violence in Canada,” he said.
“You make it out of Detroit, you don’t expect this to happen in Calgary.”
Hicks had aspirations to make the NFL, Norman noted — a dream that did not end with joining the CFL in Calgary.
“He was not going to give up easily, and he was never going to quit trying,” he said.
In a statement released Monday, Jeremiah Jurcic, the vice-president of operations for the Marquee Beer Market and Stage, said the bar is working closely with police to provide information that could
I have never even heard of that kind of violence in Canada. You make it out of Detroit, you don’t expect this to happen in Calgary.
help determine the events that led to the “senseless act of violence” in the parking lot.
“The security protocols that are in place, such as ID scans and pat downs for all patrons entering our facility, as well as the professionalism of our staff, will hopefully lead to swift justice for the perpetrator of this horrendous crime,” Jurcic said.
“As we work with law enforcement officials through this investigation we will continue to review and enhance the security measures in our facility and the surrounding area for the safety of our patrons.”
Officers believe some people at the bar that night may have captured the incident in cellphone photos or video, and are appealing for anyone with information to contact police at 403-266-1234, the homicide unit tip line at 403-4288877 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800222-8477.
Lugela is scheduled to appear in court on Friday.