2 men found guilty in random roadside shooting near Calgary

The Calgary Courts Centre is pictured in Calgary, Monday, May 6, 2024. Two men accused of killing a county worker on a rural road near Calgary have been found guilty of second-degree murder and armed robbery. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

The wife of an Alberta man gunned down in a roadside shooting east of Calgary shared an emotional hug with the prosecutor after a jury found two men guilty of second-degree murder Saturday.

Jurors deliberated for 14 hours before concluding Arthur Penner and Elijah Strawberry shot and killed Colin Hough, 45, an employee of Rocky View County, on Aug. 6, 2024 on a rural road.

“I love you,” Laurie Hough said to prosecutor Photini Popadatou as they embraced after the verdict.

Neither Penner or Strawberry seemed surprised at the court’s decisions, standing with their hands clasped in front of them as the verdicts were read.

Both men were also found guilty of two counts of armed robbery including stealing Hough’s vehicle and attempting to take the vehicle of FortisAlberta surveyor Matthew Andres, who was shot through the arm at the same location.

Andres was approached by two men who were driving a vehicle that appeared to have a flat tire. One of the men shot him through the arm and then demanded his keys and pointed a gun at his head. Andres was able to flee and watched from a distance as the truck driven by the two accused was set on fire and Hough drove up to investigate.

He said Penner and Strawberry ran toward Hough’s vehicle and started firing at it. Hough was hit three times and was left on the road. His vehicle was stolen.

But Andres said the two men were masked and he wasn’t able to positively identify them as Penner and Strawberry.

The two men were originally charged with attempted murder as well, but Court of King’s Bench Justice Shane Parker withdrew the charge and acquitted them.

Strawberry and Penner will face a mandatory life sentence of 25 years. The jury was asked for recommendations on how long each man should have to serve before being eligible for parole. The results ranged from the minimum of 10 years up to 25 years.

A sentencing date will be determined Oct. 16. Strawberry’s lawyer, Rebecca Snukul, has asked for a forensic mental assessment and a Gladue report for her client.

Penner’s lawyer, Alex Seaman, also requested a Gladue report, often used in sentencing Indigenous individuals.

It’s expected sentencing arguments won’t happen until November at the earliest.

The trial saw video footage from a nearby semi-trailer driver that captured Hough’s final minutes. It showed a figure moving across the intersection and collapsing in the middle of the road.

A .45-calibre bullet was found where he collapsed and a nine-millimetre shell casing was found near where Andres was wounded.

Hough’s vehicle was later found abandoned. Penner, 37, was arrested five days later and Strawberry, 29, was found after a month hiding in a residence on the O’Chiese First Nation.

Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press