Accused testifies he didn’t intend to shoot thief

A northern Alberta man on trial for shooting an intruder who was stealing his ATV testified Tuesday he had fired into the air above the man and was only trying to scare him away.

Eugene Dalton, 62, has pleaded guilty to possessing a shotgun without a licence. He entered not guilty pleas to charges of aggravated assault, discharging a firearm with intent to harm, careless storage of a firearm and unlawful use of a firearm.

Testifying in his own defence, the truck driver said he was asleep at his home in Chard on July 6, 2014, when he was awakened about 4 a.m.

Dalton told court he grabbed his shotgun, went outside and, after seeing a man on an ATV driving toward him, he shot into the air.

“Just to scare him away so he would take off and leave,” Dalton said. “I was scared that maybe he was going to run over me.”

He denied intending to shoot the man, adding that he didn’t believe he had shot him as the man jumped off the quad and ran quickly away and did not appear to be injured.

After shutting off the ATV and locking it up, Dalton said he went back to sleep. He was called later by the RCMP, informed that he had shot someone and told to come out and surrender.

Under cross-examination, Dalton denied suggestions he was angry about his ATV being stolen and intended to shoot the man.

According to an agreed statement of facts, intruder Philip Janvier and he had gone to Dalton’s acreage home with his girlfriend and her cousin to steal the quad.

Janvier was wounded in the upper left arm and had surgery in Edmonton to repair the damage.

RCMP Const. Vince Bacon testified he knew Janvier and that he had been investigated for assaults and assaults with a weapon. Court also heard Janvier is in custody.

Closing arguments in the case are slated for Wednesday.