The trial has begun for a man accused of selling a rifle used to kill two Edmonton police constables and to wound a pizza delivery driver in two separate shootings that occurred three years ago.
Dennis Tyler Okeymow, 21, faces a total of 17 charges, including three counts of manslaughter.
On Monday, he pleaded guilty to trafficking controlled substances, weapons and possessing a firearm while being prohibited from doing so.
Court heard that in March 2023, 16-year-old Roman Shewchuk carried out a pair of shootings. The first shooting was a random attack on the delivery driver inside a Pizza Hut and the second, which unfolded just a few days later, involved an ambush that left the two police officers, Travis Jordan and Brett Ryan, dead.
According to an agreed statement of facts, the first known interactions between Shewchuk and Okeymow began in summer 2021, when Okeymow was 17 and Shewchuk was 15.
Court heard Okeymow sold controlled substances, including cannabis and cocaine, to Shewchuk repeatedly between 2021 and 2023.
After the second shooting incident, police seized Shewchuk’s phone and uncovered Snapchat messages showing drug transactions between the two.
On Jan. 24, 2023, Okeymow offered to sell Shewchuk a semi-automatic STG-44 rifle with 100 rounds of ammunition for $2,500. Shewchuk initially declined, saying he “needed” a handgun and had a $1,500 budget.
Days later, on Jan. 29, Shewchuk agreed to purchase the rifle. Court heard that between Jan. 29 and Feb. 1, Okeymow unlawfully sold him the firearm along with 80 rounds of .22 calibre ammunition at or near Shewchuk’s apartment.
Court documents state the combined retail value of the rifle and ammunition was about $650 and that Okeymow knew Shewchuk was 16 at the time.
There is no evidence Okeymow provided safety equipment, proper storage measures or stock with the firearm.
At the time, the rifle was classified as non-restricted. It was later reclassified as prohibited in late 2023 as part of a ban on what the federal government describes as “assault-style firearms.”
Undercover operation
On July 25, 2023, police arrested Okeymow on an unrelated matter as part of a plan to gather evidence and see if he would volunteer any information about the trafficking of the rifle.
Officers placed him in a vehicle and transported him, passing a staged traffic stop involving an undercover officer posing as someone being detained for a firearms offence.
Okeymow was later placed in a holding cell with the undercover officer at the Strathcona County RCMP detachment. After the two were released, another undercover officer, posing as the man’s girlfriend, drove them from the detachment.
The male undercover officer testified at Okeymow’s trial on Tuesday from a separate room to protect his identity.
“Dennis said to me he knew the person who shot and killed the police officers,” the officer told the court.
A 30-minute recording played in court captured Okeymow describing Shewchuk as “weird” and “depressed.”
Court documents show Shewchuk had been diagnosed with schizophrenia during a previous psychiatric admission.
His symptoms improved with medication and by abstaining from cannabis, but he later became non-compliant with treatment.
There is no evidence Shewchuk disclosed his mental health history to Okeymow.
The male undercover officer said he contacted Shewchuk later and asked to purchase a firearm.
In September, the undercover officer went to Okeymow’s residence to re-establish contact but said he seemed “agitated and annoyed.” He said Okeymow told him there was “too much heat,” and asked the undercover officer to leave.
No additional contact was made after that encounter..
Okeymow was arrested on Nov. 23, 2023 and was charged with firearms trafficking and other offences.
Constable killings
Jordan and Ryan were killed early March 16, 2023 while responding to a family dispute at a residence in the Baywood Park apartment complex in northwest Edmonton.
Court heard that the night before, Shewchuk attacked his mother, choking her until she lost consciousness. After regaining consciousness, she fled to a nearby building, where a resident called 911.
According to an agreed statement of facts, she told the operator: “He tried to kill me and I am just worried … because he will kill himself.”
She added that she did not know if her son had any weapons.
At 12:26 a.m. on March 16, Jordan and Ryan arrived at the Baywood Park complex in an unmarked vehicle. They approached Shewchuk’s apartment with his mother after gaining access to the building.
Court heard their presence would have been visible from outside the Shewchuk residence.
When Jordan and Ryan knocked and identified themselves, Shewchuk opened the door and immediately opened fire.
He discharged 10 rounds, and multiple bullets struck both officers in the head. Both died at the scene without being able to return fire.
Shewchuk’s mother was also shot multiple times but managed to escape and seek help.
Moments later, Shewchuk retreated inside the apartment and fatally shot himself. His father, who was inside, witnessed the suicide.
Jason Dussault, a weapons enforcement specialist with the RCMP, testified on Tuesday that the rifle could fire 11 shots in 2.53 seconds, and a video played in the courtroom demonstrated this.
Pizza Hut shooting
Days before Jordan and Ryan were killed, Shewchuk shot a pizza delivery driver in a random attack.
On March 12, 2023, Richard Albert was standing inside a Pizza Hut near Westmount Shopping Centre, a few blocks from Shewchuk’s apartment, when the teen entered the restaurant wearing a mask and shot him in the head.
Albert survived but suffered permanent injuries, including vision loss in one eye, retained bullet fragments in his brain, short-term memory loss, anxiety and depression.
Police determined the attack was random and that the two had never met.
The Crown finished presenting its case on Tuesday and now the defence is expected to present its arguments on Thursday.