By Curtis Galbraith

Court

Guilty verdict, life sentence in Grande Prairie murder case

Jun 21, 2019 | 2:25 PM

An Edmonton man has been found guilty of first-degree murder after the shooting death of another Edmonton man in Grande Prairie.

Nicholas Richard Harris was charged after the 2014 killing of John William Rock outside the Canadian Brewhouse early in the morning of October 1, 2014.

He has been given a life sentence, with no eligibility for parole for 25 years. Harris was also given a lifetime firearms prohibition.

In his 35-page written decision, some of which was read out in Grande Prairie Court of Queen’s Bench Friday, Justice EJ Simpson rejected a self-defence argument from Harris’ side, saying the killing was planned and deliberate.

He also told court self-defence is based on what a reasonable, law-abiding person would believe, not a reasonable drug dealer.

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Harris and Rock had been in a dispute over a $30,000 drug debt Harris owed to Rock for several months. Justice Simpson says the planning of the murder started when Harris started carrying a handgun when that dispute broke out.

He also told court Harris had just been released from jail four days before the Grande Prairie shooting in connection with a handgun being left behind in an Edmonton restaurant. Harris also had a prior criminal record.

Harris and Rock first met inside the Brewhouse on the night of the killing. Harris believed they would try to settle their debt, plus believed two drug gang associates were being held hostage by and being threatened by Rock and some of his associates.

They then moved outside, with Rock throwing two punches and hitting Harris, who then shot Rock once in the leg and once in chest. The second shot came as Rock was still coming at him, according to the evidence cited in the written decision.

Court found that before going outside, Harris had moved a .380 hand gun from his back waist band to the left pocket of his hoodie and had chambered one round.

Harris had testified he shot down, trying to stop the attack. Justice Simpson told court that while the video shows the shot that hit Rock in the leg was fired downward, the one that him in the chest was shot horizontally.

Harris chose not to say anything to the court after the sentence was given out. Simpson told him that, as he says to anyone who he sends to prison, he can’t think of a greater punishment than taking away somone’s liberty. He added he was bound by the Criminal Code of Canada to impose this sentence. It is the only one allowed under the Criminal Code.

The 37-year-old Harris will be 62 before he can apply for parole.