The spouse of an Alberta man gunned down in a roadside taking pictures east of Calgary shared an emotional hug with the prosecutor after a jury discovered two males responsible of second-degree homicide Saturday.
Jurors deliberated for 14 hours earlier than concluding Arthur Penner and Elijah Strawberry shot and killed Colin Hough, 45, an worker of Rocky View County, on Aug. 6, 2024 on a rural highway.
“I like you,” Laurie Hough stated to prosecutor Photini Popadatou as they embraced after the decision.
Neither Penner or Strawberry appeared shocked on the court docket’s choices, standing with their fingers clasped in entrance of them because the verdicts had been learn.
Each males had been additionally discovered responsible of two counts of armed theft, together with stealing Hough’s automobile and making an attempt to take the automobile of FortisAlberta surveyor Matthew Andres, who was shot by way of the arm on the identical location.
Andres was approached by two males who had been driving a automobile that appeared to have a flat tire. One of many males shot him by way of the arm after which demanded his keys and pointed a gun at his head. Andres was in a position to flee and watched from a distance because the truck pushed by the 2 accused was set on fireplace and Hough drove as much as examine.
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He stated Penner and Strawberry ran towards Hough’s automobile and began firing at it. Hough was hit 3 times and was left on the highway. His automobile was stolen.
However Andres stated the 2 males had been masked and he wasn’t in a position to positively determine them as Penner and Strawberry.
The 2 males had been initially charged with tried homicide as properly, however Courtroom of King’s Bench Justice Shane Parker withdrew the cost and acquitted them.
Strawberry and Penner will face a compulsory life sentence of 25 years. The jury was requested for suggestions on how lengthy every man ought to must serve earlier than being eligible for parole.
The outcomes ranged from the minimal of 10 years as much as 25 years.
A sentencing date will likely be decided Oct. 16. Strawberry’s lawyer, Rebecca Snukul, has requested for a forensic psychological evaluation and a Gladue report for her consumer.
Penner’s lawyer, Alex Seaman, additionally requested a Gladue report, usually utilized in sentencing Indigenous people.
It’s anticipated sentencing arguments received’t occur till November on the earliest.
The trial noticed video footage from a close-by semi-trailer driver that captured Hough’s closing minutes. It confirmed a determine shifting throughout the intersection and collapsing in the midst of the highway.
A .45-calibre bullet was discovered the place he collapsed and a nine-millimetre shell casing was discovered close to the place Andres was wounded.
Hough’s automobile was later discovered deserted. Penner, 37, was arrested 5 days later and Strawberry, 29, was discovered after a month hiding in a residence on the O’Chiese First Nation.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
