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Having just been shot and now in hiding, Matthew Andres could not stop or warn Colin Hough as the 45-year-old pulled over on a rural road after spotting a truck on fire, jurors heard Monday as the Crown delivered an opening statement on Day 1 of a second-degree murder trial.
Both Andres and Hough were shot on Aug. 6, 2024. Andres survived, while Hough was killed.
Elijah Strawberry and Arthur Penner are on trial for second-degree murder and attempted murder.
Prosecutor Photini Papadatou delivered an opening statement on Monday, outlining the Crown’s case and the expected evidence.
‘He feared for his life’
On the afternoon of the shooting, Andres was working for FortisAlberta as a surveyor at a rural intersection north of Chestermere when he heard a truck pull up that sounded like it had a flat tire.
Police would later determine that white Dodge Ram truck with teal rims had been stolen in Calgary the night before, according to the Crown.
Papadatou told the jury that a man with his face covered got out of the truck and shot Andres, demanding the keys to his work vehicle.
“He feared for his life,” said Papadatou. “[Andres] ran as far and as fast as he could … but he did not get very far.”
Hough shot while driving
Then, “poof,” said Papadatou, as she described the stolen truck being set on fire.
Moments later, Hough, who had spotted the flames, pulled over in his Rocky View County truck.
“Mr. Andres could not stop or warn the approaching vehicle,” said Papadatou. “He tried, but he could not.”
Hough was shot multiple times through the driver’s side window.
Hough collapsed on road
Dashcam footage from a passing semi driver showed Hough managed to get out of his vehicle and stumbled into the rural intersection before he collapsed in the middle of the road.
It is the Crown’s theory, said Papadatou, that Strawberry and Penner were in the stolen truck with the flat tire.
Further, Papadatou said the Crown will present evidence that Strawberry shot Andres, and that both Strawberry and Penner shot Hough.
The suspects took off in Hough’s Rocky View County truck, which was later found abandoned.
DNA evidence
While injured and hiding, Andres called 911.
Papadatou told jurors they will hear evidence that DNA from items found at the scene and in Hough’s stolen truck came back as a match to Strawberry and Penner.
Penner was arrested and charged with murder within three days.
Warrants were issued for Strawberry’s arrest, but he wasn’t taken into custody until about a month later, when police found him hiding under blankets in a home on the O’Chiese First Nation northwest of Calgary.