Calgary

Calgary man accused of murdering mother just got out of prison for shooting at home with woman, 4 kids inside

A Calgary man accused of murdering his mother has a long criminal history of violence and once used a sawed off shotgun to fire into a house with a woman and four children inside, according to parole documents.

Levi Romeo Mitchell, 29, charged with 2nd-degree murder of Deborah Ann Mitchell

A man stands in front of a prison with his hands folded in front of him.
Levi Mitchell was sentenced to six years in prison for discharging a firearm with intent. This photo was taken outside the prison during his time there. (Facebook)

A Calgary man accused of murdering his mother has a long criminal history of violence and once used a sawed off shotgun to fire into a house with a woman and four children inside, according to parole documents.

Levi Romeo Mitchell, 29, was charged with second-degree murder after Deborah Ann Mitchell's body was found in her Pineridge home on Saturday.

At his court appearance on the murder charge Thursday, defence lawyer Shamsher Kothari told the judge he made an "urgent" request for the autopsy report.

It comes after Mitchell's statutory release was revoked this past February when the Parole Board of Canada ruled he presented too high a risk to the community. 

"Your institutional behaviour has been problematic and has included assaults, having a concealed weapon, refusing to provide urinalysis, involvement in the drug sub-culture and aggravated assault," wrote board member F. Burch.

It's unclear when he was ultimately released. 

A young man stands with his arm around a woman.
Levi Romeo Mitchell, left, with his mother, Deborah Ann Mitchell, right. (Deborah Mitchell/Facebook)

On bail at time of killing

Levi was on bail for 12 offences at the time he's accused of killing his mother. The charges included carrying a concealed weapon, possession of stolen property worth over $5,000, breaking-in and using a disguise with intent.

In 2019, Levi was sentenced to six years in prison for firing several shots into a home. He got more than three years credit for the time he'd already served.

While on bail and then when serving his sentence, Levi re-offended several times, adding years to his time in custody. 

One of those offences took place in 2020. At that time, Levi was convicted of assault causing bodily harm for an attack that took place in the prison. 

While in prison, Levi lost two jobs in prison "for behavioural reasons," according to the documents.

Deborah's friends expressed concern

In April 2019, before he was due to be released from prison the first time, Deborah signalled in a Facebook post that some of her friends had expressed concern over her son coming to live with her after his time in custody.

"To all those haters that think I and Levi should not live together, you know who you are and this is what you can do with that, feel free to go … yourself and stay away," she wrote. "Other than that, totally stoked May 07th."

A facebook post with text that reads: To all those haters that think I and Levi should not live together, you know who you are and this is what you can do with that, feel free to go … yourself and stay away. Other than that, totally stoked May 07th.
Deborah Ann Mitchell was found dead in her home on the weekend. This post from 2019 shows some of her friends indicated they didn't think it was a good idea for her son Levi Mitchell to live with her when he was released from prison. (Deborah Ann Mitchell/Facebook)

Now, 2½ years later, Deborah is dead and Levi is accused of murdering her.

It was a scenario one police officer surmised was possible during the shooting investigation.

In a 2015 videotaped police interview, a witness expressed fear Mitchell would kill him. 

The officer urged the witness to give him more information because "maybe next time somebody will be dead," said the investigator.

On social media, Levi called the witness a "rat."

Since 2015, Levi has served five jail sentences for various offences, including assault causing bodily harm, assault, drug possession, carrying a concealed weapon, possession of stolen property worth over $5,000 and making fake IDs.

He is due in court on those offences in January. Levi will also be back in court later this month.