A jury has convicted a Pine Lake man of attempted murder.
Cory Lavallee was convicted of shooting and wounding Donald Bernie Brown, then 31, at a rural residence in the Pine Lake area on June 2, 2014. Brown was hit in the face by a round from a .22-calibre rifle that dropped him to the ground. Lavallee shot him again in the face as he lay on the ground.
Despite his wounds, Brown fled to a neighbouring residence for help.
Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Terrance Clackson will sentence Lavallee on Jan. 30. The maximum sentence for attempted murder is life in prison.
The four-woman, eight-man jury deliberated for about four hours before reaching a verdict on Wednesday.
During the trial, which began on Oct. 11, the jury heard from 11 witnesses.
They also saw segments of a videotaped police interview with Lavallee taken about three weeks after the shooting in which he confessed to shooting Brown. Police questioned Lavallee for almost 20 hours over two days after he was arrested near Bashaw.
“I feel bad for shooting Donny. I really do. I wish it hadn’t f**king happened,” he told police.
However, when testifying in his trial, Lavallee said he was not the shooter. He said that he took the blame because he feared for his and his family’s safety from higher ups in the drug trade. He could not identify the real shooter for fear of repercussion.
Lavallee testified that another man had shot Brown in retaliation for some missing drugs and money.
In his instructions to the jury on Wednesday morning, Clackson told jurors they must be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that Lavallee shot Brown at least once and that his intention was to kill Brown.
The jury must consider the context of Lavallee’s confession and whether they believed it was the truth.
If the jury does not know whose story to believe they must acquit, he said.
pcowley@www.reddeeradvocate.com