Charges dropped against man who shot at prowlers
OKOTOKS, Alta. — A courtroom erupted in cheers and applause Friday as all charges were dropped against a man accused of firing shots at suspected thieves on his rural property in southern Alberta.
The Crown withdrew charges that included aggravated assault and firearms offences against Edouard Maurice at a court appearance in Okotoks, south of Calgary.
“The Crown’s obligation is always to review on an ongoing basis the strength of the case. In this case, information came to light and as a result there’s not a reasonable chance of conviction at this time,” Crown prosecutor Jim Sawa said.
“We’ve received information from a firearms expert and that information was compelling to say the least,” said Sawa, who wouldn’t say what the evidence was.
Maurice, 33, was charged after he confronted two people rummaging through his vehicles in February. Shots were fired and one of the prowlers was slightly wounded.
Maurice was cheered by 75 supporters outside the courthouse, where he spoke for the first time since his arrest.
“It’s a relief it’s over. It’s been quite a tough four months to go through this,” he said standing with his wife Jessie and his lawyer. “Without us having to go through this, the rural crime problem wouldn’t be at the forefront. It’s got a lot of attention and now the government and everyone else is stepping up and looking at ways to help us out.”
In March, the province announced $10 million in funding to hire more RCMP officers and support specialized crime reduction units in rural communities.
Defence lawyer Tonii Roulston said being able to defend property is important and often police are delayed in responding to rural calls.
She noted that her client was alone with one of his children and had warned the two prowlers to leave before firing.
“We’re certainly not advocating don’t call the police. However, at the same time, individual citizens in rural communities have to be able to defend their property and defend their family.”