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Crown prosecutor says evidence points to guilt of accused shooter

Accused admitted to friend he fatally shot Blackfalds man in 2022
court-jan-23
The Crown prosecutor says the evidence proves Dustin Lemay-Storms is guilty of second-degree murder. (Advocate file photo)

The man accused of fatally shooting Stephen Pond in 2022 admitted the crime, his DNA was all over the murder weapon, and he should be found guilty of second-degree murder, said a Crown prosecutor Thursday.

"He said he shot him. He broke down and said it was going to haunt him," Crown prosecutor Ann Siford said in her closing submission in Red Deer Court of King's Bench.

That emotional confession to a close friend about five months after the June 20, 2022 shooting was the sign of a "guilty conscience," Siford told Justice Wayne Renke. The significance of the friend's testimony around the confession is "particularly compelling" because of their close relationship and her reluctance to testify against him, said the Crown. 

Dustin Lemay-Storms, 36, is on trial for second-degree murder for firing six shots at Pond, who driving his pickup on a rural property near Eckville in the early hours of June 20. One of the bullets hit Pond in the head, fatally wounding him. He died in a STARS helicopter as flew to an Edmonton hospital.

Pond's wife, Leanne Low, was in his pickup with him but was not injured.

Low testified that the shooter was only five feet away when shots were fired. She described him as medium height and build with dark hair and was wearing a head lamp. 

At one point, the shooter pointed his rifle at her twice and appeared to be fiddling with it before he swore and ran off into nearby trees.

On the witness stand on Jan. 14, Low identified Lemay-Storms as the man who killed her husband. During her testimony, she vividly described what she saw when her husband was shot about 4 a.m. and what happened in the frantic moments after.

"I think she was very transparent and honest in her recollection," said Siford.

Siford said the Savage 64 .22-calibre semi-automatic rifle linked to Lemay-Storms was proven by firearms experts to be the murder weapon. It was found by police under a mattress in a Red Deer residence he had been sharing with his girlfriend.

Lemay-Storms's father testified he saw his son shooting gophers with a similar-looking rifle the day before the shooting. Spent shell casings were also found in two places on the property where the shooting took place and which was close to where Lemay-Storms was living.

Siford said Lemay-Storms's DNA was also found on an ammunition box located in a cow pasture near the scene of the shooting. 

A text Lemay-Storms sent his friend the morning of the shooting described how he saw a blue flash and then heard the STARS helicopter. The flash happened at an oilfield lease site, where Pond, who made a living as a copper wire thief, had been fiddling with equipment.

That text shows Lemay-Storms was in the vicinity of the shooting at the time it happened, said Siford.

Siford conceded Low's testimony alone is not enough to prove Lemay-Storms was the shooter beyond a reasonable doubt but all evidence taken together proves he is the killer.

"It is the Crown's submission on the totality of the evidence the only reasonable inference is that Mr. Lemay-Storms is guilty."

Defence lawyer Cody Ackland argued his client was not the shooter, and whoever it was took aim from the farmer's field rather than the ditch and shot at the front fender of the truck, which suddenly dropped into a ditch about a metre deep.

He questioned the reliability and accuracy of Low's testimony about the shooter. The RCMP said shots were fired from 15 feet away or more. She said the shooter was five feet away, but no cartridges were found in the ditch with a metal detector.

Cartridges, with his client's DNA, were found in the field, but the DNA could have come from indirect contact, like a cough or sneeze. Likewise, the semi-automatic rifle with Lemay-Storms's DNA was recovered seven months later.

"The only available inference is he may have come into contact with it at any time before or after the incident," said Ackland during his closing submissions on Friday.

Ackland also doubted the confession, which he said lacked context and details. 

Justice Renke will deliver his decision on Feb. 14.



Paul Cowley

About the Author: Paul Cowley

Paul grew up in Brampton, Ont. and began his journalism career in 1990 at the Alaska Highway News in Fort. St. John, B.C.
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