Mayerthorpe RCMP killings: the case, convictions and sentences
Two Alberta men pleaded guilty to manslaughter for helping James Roszko return to his farm near Mayerthorpe before four RCMP constables were shot there on March 3, 2005.
Crime Canada newsroomPublished
In short
Shawn Hennessey and Dennis Cheeseman, two men from the Barrhead area of Alberta, pleaded guilty in January 2009 to four counts of manslaughter in the deaths of four RCMP constables shot on a farm near Mayerthorpe on March 3, 2005. Neither man was at the farm during the shooting. They admitted helping James Roszko get back to his property the night before; a provincial fatality inquiry later found that Roszko fired the fatal shots. Roszko died at the scene and was never tried. The Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta sentenced Hennessey to 10 years and 4½ months and Cheeseman to 7 years and 2½ months, after credit for their guilty pleas and their time in custody.
What happened
On the afternoon of March 2, 2005, two civil bailiffs went to Roszko's farm, about 11 km north of Rochfort Bridge near Mayerthorpe, to repossess a truck. Roszko had a criminal record that included violent and sexual offences, and he was under a ban on possessing firearms. He let loose two dogs, swore at the bailiffs and drove away.
RCMP officers came to assist. In a Quonset hut on the property they found signs of a chop shop for stolen vehicles and a marijuana growing operation. Corporal James Martin returned that evening with a search warrant. In the residence, officers found a radio scanner set to a local RCMP frequency and lists of information about officers at nearby detachments. The drug search ended in the early hours of March 3. Constables Anthony Gordon and Leo Johnston stayed overnight to guard the scene.
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After leaving the farm, Roszko called Hennessey. Hennessey contacted his brother-in-law, Cheeseman, and the three men met at Hennessey's farm. Roszko, who was angry at the police, asked for a rifle that Hennessey's grandfather had given him. Hennessey fetched it, along with ammunition, and wiped it down. Cheeseman, wearing gloves, placed it in a pillowcase and gave it to Roszko. Roszko said he meant to go back and burn the Quonset hut. The two men followed him to his aunt's home, where he left his truck. They then drove him close to his farm and dropped him off sometime between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. Cheeseman suggested calling the police on the way back, but Hennessey disagreed, and no call was made.
On the morning of March 3, Constable Brock Myrol was sent to the farm, and Constable Peter Schiemann drove him there. Two auto-theft investigators, Constables Garrett Hoogestraat and Stephen Vigor, arrived shortly afterward. The four Mayerthorpe constables walked into the Quonset hut, and gunfire followed. According to the fatality inquiry, Roszko had been hiding inside and shot all four officers, who died almost instantly. When Roszko came out, Constable Vigor exchanged fire with him and wounded him. Roszko went back inside and took his own life. The Emergency Response Team later sent a camera-equipped robot into the hut, and the four officers and Roszko were found dead inside.
Constable Gordon, 28, worked out of Whitecourt. Constable Johnston, 32, Constable Myrol, 29, and Constable Schiemann, 25, worked out of the Mayerthorpe detachment. Myrol had been posted there for less than three weeks. It was the largest loss of RCMP lives in a single day since 1958.
The investigation and charges
The RCMP's investigation lasted two years and cost more than $2 million. A central question was how Roszko had returned to the farm, since his truck was found at his aunt's home, 38.5 km away. Phone records showed calls from Roszko to Hennessey's workplace, his work phone and his home. Hennessey's DNA was found on a work glove left in the Quonset hut. The rifle Roszko carried was registered to Hennessey's grandfather. In 2006, Hennessey told a reporter he did not know why Roszko had called him.
Media reports later described a long undercover operation, including a so-called Mr. Big operation directed at Cheeseman. In July 2007, police arrested Cheeseman in Sherwood Park and Hennessey in Barrhead. Each was charged with four counts of first-degree murder as a party to the offences. The RCMP cited section 21 of the Criminal Code, which makes people who aid or abet an offence parties to it.
The court process and the pleas
After a month-long preliminary hearing in Stony Plain, Provincial Court Judge Peter Ayotte ruled on June 6, 2008, that there was enough evidence to send both men to trial. He imposed a publication ban on details of the hearing, and this page does not report evidence from it. Both men had been released on bail with strict conditions.
On January 19, 2009, Hennessey and Cheeseman each pleaded guilty to four counts of the lesser offence of manslaughter. Their sentencing went ahead on the basis of an Agreed Statement of Facts signed by both men, their lawyers and Crown prosecutors.
Sentence, appeals and parole
The Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta gave its sentencing decision on January 30, 2009. The Crown had sought 10 to 15 years and the defence 3 to 5 years. The judge sided with the Crown. He found that 15 years would be a fit sentence for Hennessey and 12 years for Cheeseman, then reduced those terms for the early pleas and time already served. The final sentences were 10 years and 4½ months for Hennessey and 7 years and 2½ months for Cheeseman.
In a CBC interview broadcast on February 4, 2009, Hennessey disputed parts of the agreed facts. He said he had not known about the police search or about Roszko's intentions.
On September 27, 2010, the Alberta Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed Hennessey's sentence appeal. It dismissed Cheeseman's appeal by a 2–1 majority; the dissenting judge would have imposed a lower sentence because Cheeseman's role was smaller. The Supreme Court of Canada refused both men leave to appeal on August 25, 2011. Cheeseman was granted statutory release in 2013, and Hennessey was paroled in 2015.
What the case changed
Alberta law required the fatality inquiry to wait until the criminal case was over, so it did not open until January 11, 2011. Assistant Chief Judge Daniel Pahl found that the four officers' deaths were homicides and that Roszko's death was a suicide. He made eight recommendations. He wrote that the officers had been heavily outgunned and urged better access to long guns, carbines and body armour. The inquiry heard that officers at the scene had to ask neighbours to lend them rifles. In October 2011, the RCMP announced it would issue the C8 carbine to front-line members, and an RCMP inspector said Mayerthorpe had weighed into that decision. The force had also announced 6,800 improved protective vests for delivery by April 1, 2013.
Timeline
- March 2, 2005: Bailiffs and RCMP officers attend Roszko's farm; a grow operation and chop shop are found.
- March 3, 2005: Constables Gordon, Johnston, Myrol and Schiemann are shot dead; Roszko dies at the scene.
- March 10, 2005: Memorial service in Edmonton.
- July 2007: Hennessey and Cheeseman are arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
- June 6, 2008: Both are committed to stand trial.
- January 19, 2009: Both plead guilty to four counts of manslaughter.
- January 30, 2009: Sentences are imposed.
- September 27, 2010: The Alberta Court of Appeal dismisses both appeals.
- January 11, 2011: The fatality inquiry opens in Stony Plain.
- August 25, 2011: The Supreme Court of Canada refuses leave to appeal.
- October 2011: The RCMP announces C8 carbines for front-line officers.
- 2013: Cheeseman is granted statutory release.
- 2015: Hennessey is paroled.
