Robert John Sheppard attempted murder trial hears testimony from first witnesses

As the Crown read an agreed statement of facts, it was noted that the accused and the alleged victim were known to one another, that the accused had in his possession an SKS semi-automatic rifle, and that at least 40 rounds were seized from the vehicle he was driving the night he was arrested.

The first person called to testify was a 20-year-old woman who was in the home when events took an “unusual” turn.

Co-Crown Prosecutor Clayton Giles asked her to recall what she remembered and experienced.

The woman, who is the girlfriend of the alleged victim’s son, testified she and her boyfriend, along with another 20-year-old male were in the basement of the home. She was painting her nails, while her boyfriend and the other male were studying for school exams. She told the court she had known Sheppard at that time for about eight months.

The 20-year-old testified the alleged victim told the three in the basement “if he (Robert) comes by, I’m not here.” However, sometime after 8 p.m., the young woman and her boyfriend heard someone upstairs, and saw Sheppard at the door knocking and fiddling with the door handle.

The boyfriend’s mother was in the back yard, sitting next to a fire in a fire pit, when Sheppard entered the yard and sat next to her, the woman said. They sat talking for between 5 and 10 minutes when the mother came back inside.

The 20-year-old told the court the woman directed the three young adults in the basement to turn off all the lights, turn off the music, lock the doors, and to get ready to call 9-1-1 because “he’s yakking off about having a gun.”

The mother went back outside, while the other three stayed in the home. The young woman said she heard the conversation between Sheppard and the mother become louder until the woman was allegedly grabbed by the shoulders and shoved into a window.

It was then that the young woman told the judge she turned around briefly and heard four or five shots, “powpowpow…..pow,” and the mother ran into the basement through a door, and she, the girlfriend and the son ran up the stairs to the main floor, and out a garage door.

Court heard a 9-1-1 call placed by the young woman, just after what she believed were shots fired. The call lasted 13 minutes as the young woman gave the address of the home and told the operator they were running away – ultimately finding a spot to hide in a neighbor’s back yard.

Under cross examination, Defense lawyer Andre Ouellet asked the young woman about back yard lighting, and whether she actually saw a gun, or the accused using one. She answered that she had not. Ouellette also questioned whether parts of her recollection might be slightly inaccurate, given the panic and fear at the time. The woman answered that she had a very good recollection of what had happened.

According to Lethbridge Police and RCMP, all four people in the home escaped without injuries, and Sheppard was arrested early the next morning near Granum around 1:45 a.m. after a vehicle pursuit on Highway 2. A rifle and ammunition were also recovered from the vehicle he was driving.

The Crown is expected to call four witnesses from the home, four officers involved in the incident, and one rifle expert. The trial continues Friday.

by Lara Fominoff

Robert John Sheppard attempted murder trial hears testimony from first witnesses

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