Some good news today in that charges (which never should have been filed in the first place) were dropped against another rural homeowner who injured some worthless meth-head skell in a separate robbery incident:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/o ... -1.4716423$1:
ll charges have been dropped against a rural Alberta homeowner accused of shooting a trespasser on his property near Okotoks.
Eddie Maurice, 33, was charged after a suspected thief was wounded when shots were fired on Maurice's property on Feb. 24.
On Friday morning at the Okotoks courthouse, Crown prosecutor Jim Sawa withdrew charges of aggravated assault, pointing a firearm and careless use of a firearm.
He said Crown has conceded there is no reasonable likelihood of conviction because of new information that had just come to light.
The courtroom erupted in applause at that news.
Maurice had said all along that when he saw thieves on his property, he fired a warning shot, and that it was a ricochet bullet that struck the intruder.
On Friday, Sawa said the Crown had recently received a firearms report supporting that story.
"That information was compelling, to say the least, and it had a direct impact on the decision today to withdraw the charges," he said.
Sawa said he isn't able to elaborate on the report because of the two ongoing prosecutions of the alleged trespassers.
Maurice spoke to reporters outside a short time after the charges against him were dropped.
"I never really have had to encounter or endure anything like this. It's just overwhelming the people who have taken the time just to come out and support this," he said. "It's really kept our heads above water."
Supporters have rallied at each of Maurice's previous court appearances, framing the case around the issue of rural landowners' rights to defend their property.
The situation fuelled debate about how far rural landowners can go when faced with those situations.
Next up, a rise in the number of farmers and acreage owners shooting invaders to death and not reporting anything at all to the police because shoot-shovel-shut up is the only way to keep them from being persecuted by the law for defending their families in a socially "unapproved" manner.
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