Man charged with manslaughter in officers' deaths being used a scapegoat: defence

Edmonton Police Const. Travis Jordan, 35, left, and Const. Brett Ryan, 30, right, seen in a composite image made from two undated handout photos, were killed March 16, 2023, while responding to a call at an apartment complex in Edmonton. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Edmonton Police Service (Mandatory Credit)

EDMONTON — A lawyer representing a man facing manslaughter charges after selling a gun to a teenage boy who shot and killed Edmonton police officers says his client is being used as a scapegoat given there is no one else to charge.

Dennis Okeymow, who is 21, has pleaded guilty to trafficking drugs and a semi-automatic rifle to 16-year-old Roman Shewchuk.

He is on trial in Court of King’s Bench, facing more than a dozen other charges that he has pleaded not guilty to, including three counts of manslaughter as well as criminal negligence causing death and bodily harm.

Court heard that about six weeks after the sale of the rifle, Shewchuk shot and killed Const. Travis Jordan and Const. Brett Ryan in March 2023 as they were responding to a domestic violence call at his home involving his mother.

Shewchuk then shot and killed himself.

Investigators later determined Shewchuk used the same rifle to shoot a man at a pizza restaurant a few days prior.

Court has heard the teen had previously been hospitalized for schizophrenia and Okeymow was also selling him drugs at that time.

The Crown argues Okeymow sold the rifle illegally to a minor with mental illness and should have known there was a risk that people would have been harmed or killed.

Jamil Sawani, Okeymow’s lawyer, says the shootings happened weeks after the sale of the rifle and his client was not aware of Shewchuk’s mental health problems.

Daniela Germano, The Canadian Press