Lawyer argues self-defence in crime boss murder case

In closing, Crown says ‘a morally righteous murder is still a murder’

Calgary murder suspect Joshua Matechuk had no choice but to kill or be killed, his lawyer argued Friday.

But Crown prosecutor Jonathan Hak said Matechuk’s claim he was acting in self-defence when he fatally shot crime boss Rodney Conway should be rejected.

Hak told Justice Bruce Millar the accused’s actions in the days leading up to the April 18, 2015 shooting of Conway belied his claim he was living in fear of the man.

The prosecutor noted Matechuk willingly met with Conway in a parking lot off Macleod Trail.

“The defendant was armed with a firearm and prepared for a confrontation,” Hak told the Court of Queen’s Bench judge.

Matechuk admitted shooting Conway as the deceased was standing by the passenger window of the accused’s stolen van.

As Conway ran away after being shot, Matechuk fired two more times.

“Those further shots are proof the defendant intended to shoot Conway,” the prosecutor said.

Matechuk, 27, is charged with second- degree murder in the death of Conway, 44, who collapsed a short distance away in a parking lot at 10300 Macleod Trail.

Defence lawyer Alain Hepner argued his client should be acquitted of the murder charge, saying his client’s story he fired in selfdefence should be believed.

Matechuk testified he only fired when Conway reached inside the van and tried to grab a sawed-off shotgun in a bag.

“Conway says to Josh, ‘I’m going to kill you,’ reaching into the bag containing the sawed off shotgun,” Hepner said in citing his client’s testimony.

“And that’s when Josh pulls out the ( hand) gun and shoots Conway first,” the lawyer said.

Hepner said his client was a believable witness, admitting com- mitting other criminal activity with those controlled by Conway, including the violent robbery of a scrap metal yard, where he pistolwhipped the victim.

He noted hours before the fatal confrontation Conway threatened to shoot Matechuk and had also threatened to harm the accused’s family.

The lawyer noted an associate of the two men, Tim Richards, confirmed the potentially deadly threat on the accused.

The incident occurred in a room at the Stetson Village Inn, near where Conway died.

“He just … said ‘get on your knees’ like he was gonna execute him,” Hepner quoted from Richards’ testimony.

He suggested his client was an individual who had fallen on hard times and “became entangled in this web of crime.”

“How did Mr. Matechuk end up in this position?

“He was a young man with no criminal history down on his luck ... (who) ends up in the grasp of Mr. Conway.”

But Hak said Matechuk’s claim he only met Conway in the parking lot to return two firearms he had taken from the Stetson room wasn’t believable.

“The real reason for pulling into the parking lot was to finish this once and for all,” Hak said.

“This was going to be the end of it,” he said.

“The defendant shot Conway to put an end to this messy situation that he had gotten himself into.”

And the prosecutor said while Conway might have had it coming because of his bullying and intimidation tactics, that didn’t make it self-defence.

“A morally righteous murder is still a murder,” Hak said.

Millar will make a ruling in the case on April 13.