The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
Beals sent to trial on five charges
A Cherry Brook man has been committed to stand trial in Nova Scotia Supreme Court on five charges, including discharging a firearm and aggravated assault, in connection with a shooting in East Preston last spring.
Shilo Marcino Beals, 37, was originally charged with attempted murder and 10 other offences from the March 27 incident, which occurred during a poker game at a property on Brooks Drive.
The shooting happened at about 6:10 p.m. By the time RCMP arrived, victim Dwight Brooks was on his way to hospital and the suspect had left in a black car.
Beals turned himself in to police April 2 and was granted bail with the Crown’s consent later that day. He was initially required to live with his girlfriend in Truro but they later moved to Halifax and then to Beechville.
The attempted murder charge went away following a preliminary inquiry in Dartmouth provincial court Tuesday.
Three civilian witnesses testified at the inquiry. The evidence heard by Judge Rickcola Brinton is banned from publication.
Beals was also committed to trial on charges of unauthorized possession of a gun in a motor vehicle, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and breaching a firearms prohibition.
Lawyer Patrick Macewen will appear in Supreme Court on behalf of Beals on Jan. 7 to begin the process of setting dates for a judge-alone trial.
Beals’ bail order was amended recently to permit him to go to Ontario. He’s still prohibited from having any weapons and from communicating with Brooks and eight other people present when the shooting occurred.
Last December, there was a fatal shooting during another card game at the same address. No one has been charged in connection with that shooting, which took the life of Jason Andrew Smith, 45, of East Preston.
In July 2014, Beals was charged with first-degree murder in the shooting of Kevin Bowser on a Halifax street 10 years earlier. A prosecutor withdrew the charge in August 2018, three weeks before trial, saying there was no realistic prospect of conviction.