august 9th, 2007 court appearance - alberta RCMP deaths › deadmonton 2005 › deadmonton › edmonton

On August 9th, 2007 the second court appearance for the two men charged in connection with the death of four Alberta Mounties took place in the small Mayerthorpe Provincial Building courthouse.

Shawn Hennessey and Dennis Cheeseman, each charged with four counts of first-degree murder, did not make an appearance. Cheeseman remained in the Edmonton Remand Centre while Hennessey continues to be held at a remand centre in Red Deer. Both men were arrested during the first weekend of July.

At their brief first court appearance on July 12th, the case against Hennessey and Cheeseman was simply set over and their charges weren't even read out.

At the second appearance the only matter dealt with was setting a date for a preliminary hearing. Provincial court Judge Peter Ayotte set May 12th, 2008 as the start date for a month-long hearing which allows a judge to determine if there is enough evidence to proceed to trial.

The preliminary hearing will take place in a provincial court in Stony Plain. Various reasons were given: the Stony Plain has larger courtroom facilities, and the venue was moved because of the publicity the case has received.

"A case of this magnitude cannot be accommodated in a place like Mayerthorpe by virtue of the kind of case it is. It's very horrific in its sort of complexity and because of the people and the attention that is required for it," said Crown prosecutor Steven Koval.

The May 2008 date was determined by a lengthy court hearing regarding a major oil spill at Wabamun Lake that currently occupies the Stony Plain court's calendar. If that case wraps up early, the hearing for Cheeseman and Hennessey would be moved forward.

Should the case go to trial, proceedings would be held in Court of Queen's Bench in Edmonton.

Prominent defence lawyers Peter Northcott and D'arcy DePoe were still expected to make an application for bail prior to the preliminary hearing. Rebuttal arguments from prosecutor Koval could shed light on evidence the Crown has against the two men.

Koval acknowledged that the proceedings are moving slowly.

"It's a long time to wait," Koval said.

Hennessey's lawyer said the timeline to begin the hearing isn't uncommon.

"It's perhaps a little bit long, but it's a pretty big case," said DePoe.

Shawn Hennessey's aunt was disappointed the date of the preliminary hearing meant a nine month wait.

"It's a very long ways away," Criss Hennessey said. "I'm disappointed."

As was the case at the first court appearance, the media was out in force. The small Mayerthorpe courtroom was packed with family members and friends of the two accused in addition to a heavy security presence.

The mother of slain Constable Anthony Gordon was in attendance and at one point during the brief hearing she made an attempt to talk to members of the Hennessey family.

Trumpeter Ed Cartwright did not provide an encore performance, but those who needed light relief from the proceedings were able to take advantage of a liquor store that shares space in the Mayerthorpe Provincial Building.

After the short hearing, family members of Shawn Hennessey and Dennis Cheeseman spoke of their mounting legal costs.

Marian Power, an aunt of Hennessey's wife Christine, said the families of the pair have been getting a lot of community support, including donations to yard sales to raise money for the defence.

"The amount of stuff that people have donated, it's just incredible," Power said.

Criss Hennessey also addressed the cost of the defence, saying Christine was being forced to sell their house to pay for legal expenses. She said it would cost a minimum of $100,000 each for defence lawyers.

"Right now they are in the process of having to sell everything they own," Criss said. "Barrhead has been absolutely wonderful," adding the family is coming out in force to these hearings because they know the two aren't guilty.

"We definitely appreciate the monetary support we've received. It seems like a very unfair situation," she said.

While family members said they were disheartened over the charges against Hennessey and Cheeseman, they have no disrespect for the RCMP or the families of the four slain officers.

Her own grandfather was an RCMP officer, Criss said, and she still trusts the police. "I would still call them if I needed them."

Also in attendance at the hearing was Linda Fischer who had travelled to Mayerthorpe from Dawson Creek, British Columbia.

Fischer attended the hearing and spoke to media about her concerns over the RCMP's use of the Mr. Sting operation.

"There's too much potential for wrongful conviction. And especially in this case you've got two young men that are hard working family men and there's no way they would do anything knowingly to help Roszko."

Linda's son Patrick was the target of a Mr. Big operation which resulted in his being convicted of murder and his case has since been taken up by the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted.

On August 18th, 2007 the National Post ran a story about the making of a documentary that takes a hard look at the Mr. Big technique.

In a related development the Mountie that announced the breakthrough in the Mayerthorpe case, Deputy Commissioner Bill Sweeney, accepted a permanent transfer to Ottawa to act as new RCMP Commissioner William Elliot's right-hand man.

Sweeney was originally expected to be in the position for only eight months, but was persuaded by officials in Ottawa to stay on in a permanent role.

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deadmonton 2005 - alberta RCMP deaths - august 9th, 2007 court appearance