Murder charge laid in shooting

A man charged with firstdegree murder in the shooting death of Anthony Charles Johnson in Halifax this winter has been convicted of firearmsrelated offences in the past.

Johnson, 31, of Halifax, was shot Jan. 26 at about 11:30 p.m. in the area of Connaught and Chisholm avenues. He was taken to hospital with lifethreatening injuries and died Feb. 6.

Halifax homicide investigators travelled to Ontario this week and, with the assistance of Toronto police, arrested Shondell James Ogden on Wednesday at the Toronto South Detention Centre.

Ogden was brought back to Nova Scotia and appeared in Halifax provincial court Thursday by video from the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth.

Johnson's obituary said he loved to laugh, watch movies and spend time with his friends and family.

“Easy-going, quick to smile, and good natured, Anthony adored his kids and very much enjoyed being a dad,” the obituary read. “He will be missed by many.”

Police said the investigation into Johnson's homicide continues. Anyone with information about the killing is asked to call police at 902-490-5020 or submit an anonymous tip to Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers.

Ogden also faces charges of kidnapping with a firearm and conspiracy to commit a kidnapping. Those charges are in connection with an incident Jan. 22, when police received a report that a 32-year-old woman had been abducted on Romans Avenue in Halifax.

The woman was released later that day and did not sustain any physical injuries, police said.

“Police believe this was not a random incident,” the release said.

Two other men have already been charged in the abduction and appeared in provincial court in March.

Justin Gregory Miller, 39, of Dartmouth and Paul Raymond Howe, 33, of Halifax are both accused of kidnapping with a firearm and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. Miller also faces a charge of forcible confinement.

Ogden, of no fixed address, was in custody in Toronto on human trafficking charges.

In February 2014, Ogden was found guilty of discharging a firearm with intent to wound, possession of a restricted or prohibited gun with ammunition, unauthorized possession of a firearm and carrying a concealed weapon, all in connection with a shooting in Dartmouth in April 2013.

Victim Jason Byers had shown up at Dartmouth General Hospital with a gunshot wound to his right leg. He told police he had been shot while breaking up a fight between a man and woman in the parking lot of a pizza shop on Caledonia Road in Dartmouth, but investigators didn't believe his story.

Byers later admitted he had been shot at a home on Tacoma Drive during a discussion with Ogden, who owed him money.

Ogden also has convictions for robbery, theft under $5,000, possession of a knife for a dangerous purpose, possession of a prohibited weapon and uttering threats.

He's scheduled to appear in court by video again next week. Judge Gregory Lenehan ordered him to have no contact with Miller, Howe and five other people.

Anthony adored his kids and very much enjoyed being a dad. Obituary