Pair gave Mayerthorpe Mountie-killer a rifle and a ride to the crime scene

[iverglas]

Some may remember this story - spin in particular (if you'll forgive the call-out) had looked into it after the fact:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=118&topic_id=168886&mesg_id=169023


From the article headlined as quoted in the subject line:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090120.MAYERTHORPE20/TPStory/National

January 20, 2009

EDMONTON -- Just hours before James Roszko ambushed and killed four RCMP officers at his farm in northern Alberta, two young men accused of helping him carry out his deadly plan talked about calling police to warn them of what was coming.

But Shawn Hennessey, 29, and Dennis Cheeseman, 25, decided against it. They had just given Mr. Roszko, 46, a rifle and ammunition and a ride back to his farm to confront officers who had gathered there a day earlier to investigate stolen property and a small marijuana grow operation.

The brothers-in-law had even watched the heavily armed and enraged man leave their vehicle and sneak back onto his rural property in the early, dark hours of March 3, 2005, with socks covering his shoes and carrying the rifle they had just given him.

Like many other locals, the pair feared Mr. Roszko. Mr. Hennessey, a married father of two, was also trying to protect his interests - he had helped Mr. Roszko with the marijuana grow-op.

... It's a major development in a murder case that shocked and saddened the country. The massacre nearly four years ago on Mr. Roszko's farm near Mayerthorpe, 130 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, was the national police force's largest single-day loss of life in more than 100 years.

Wiki has a brief description of the event:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayerthorpe_Incident


There's no particular point here, I just thought that some who had read about and discussed the event previously might be interested in the twist.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

1. At least they'll spend time in prison.

[Raskolnik]

2. Wow, they definitely shouldn't have given a rifle or assistance to someone like

[spin]

3. That was a truly tragic incident...

that for the update, iverglas.

It's sad to find out that the two brothers-in-laws could possibly have stopped the situation from happening. I hope the judge does impose the 10 to 15 year sentences.

To a degree, the Mayerthorpe Incident reminds me of the 1986 FBI Miami shootout.

The FBI Miami shootout was a gun battle that occurred on April 11, 1986 in Miami, Florida between multiple FBI agents and two heavily-armed and well-trained gunmen. The firefight claimed the lives of special agents Gerald Dove and Benjamin Grogan, as well as the two robbery suspects, William Russell Matix and Michael Platt. In addition, five other agents were severely injured during the gunfight.

The incident is infamous in FBI history and well-studied. Despite outnumbering the suspects 4 to 1, the agents found themselves pinned down by rifle fire and unable to respond effectively. Although both Matix and Platt were hit several times in the firefight, Platt fought on regardless and continued to injure and kill the officers. This led to the introduction of more powerful handguns to prevent a repeat of this action.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_FBI_Miami_shootout