Man to finally stand trial for attempted murder

Sheppard also facing charges on two unrelated matters

Four lawyers and a dozen court appearances later, Robert John Sheppard is finally going to stand trial. The Lethbridge man, arrested nearly a year ago after shots were fired at a westside home, is set to stand trial May 23 and 24, and June 10 and 11 on charges of attempted murder, assault with a weapon, discharging a firearm, resisting arrest, careless use/storage of a firearm, pointing a firearm, possession of a weapon dangerous to the public, unauthorized possession of a firearm, unauthorized possession of a firearm/weapon in a vehicle, possession of a firearm/weapon obtained by the commission of an offence and carrying a concealed weapon.

The trial dates were set Monday during a brief hearing in Lethbridge provincial court, at which the accused appeared by closed-circuit TV from the Lethbridge Correctional Centre, where he has been remanded since his arrest last April.

The charges relate to incidents April 15 last year in which shots were fired in a home in the 100 block of Heritage Boulevard West. Four people safely escaped from the home and the area was cordoned off as police attempted to find the suspect. The man fled before the tactical team entered the house, but RCMP officers found him early the next morning and he was arrested near Granum following a police chase.

Sheppard also faces charges of assault, sexual assault and mischief causing damage from an unrelated matter, for which a trial date has yet to be scheduled. Sheppard returns to court on those charges March 14 when his lawyer, Andre Ouellette of Calgary, is expected to appear.

The accused was also scheduled for trial last September on charges of sexual assault with a weapon, sexual assault causing bodily harm, uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm and two counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, from yet another unrelated matter. The trial was cancelled after he parted ways with his first lawyer, and is now set to be heard next September.

Sheppard pleaded not guilty last August and elected to be tried by a provincial court judge. The matter has had to be adjourned several times since then, however, following repeated changes of counsel.

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