Guilty plea in fatal daytime shooting near Calgary playground
Investigators believe the shooting was targeted and tied to drugs
One of the men charged in a fatal daylight shooting near a playground has pleaded guilty to his role as the getaway driver.
Originally facing a first-degree murder charge, Troy Lemke, 38, pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of accessory after the fact to murder on Wednesday.
Lemke was driving with two others in his car on July 14, 2020, when Christian Navos, 32, was shot seven times at close range as he sat in the driver's seat of his car.
The two were Joseph Chlala and a youth who was 15 years old at the time of the killing and can't be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, according to an agreed statement of facts (ASF) presented in court at Lemke's plea on Wednesday.
The youth was the one who pulled the trigger, according to the ASF.
Time served
Chlala and the youth both face first-degree murder charges and have yet to go to trial.
Following a joint submission on sentencing from prosecutors and defence lawyer Gavin Wolch, Court of King's Bench Justice Robert Hall imposed a three-year sentence, which Lemke has already served. He will also be under a two-year probation order.
At the time of the arrests, police said the killing was connected to a dispute over drugs.
On Wednesday, the ASF provided details of the crime.
The day of Navos' death, Chlala asked Lemke to pick him up in Okotoks and take him to the community of Legacy.
Lemke believed he would be paid in drugs to transport Chlala, his dealer.
When Lemke arrived to collect Chlala, the 15-year-old was with him.
The three pulled up beside Navos' Jeep just before 4 p.m.
Mother and child at playground
Lemke stayed in his running car while the other two got out, walked over to the Jeep where the teen shot Navos seven times, according to the agreed statement of facts.
At a playground across the street, a mother heard the gunshots and saw the youth standing at the door of the Jeep, holding a handgun.
After the shooting, the youth and Chlala got back into the car and Lemke sped off.
Within about 10 minutes, a HAWC helicopter spotted Lemke's Mecedes on Stoney Trail and followed it.
Meanwhile, police tried to pull the car over but Lemke took off from the traffic stop.
Police observed several cell phones and a rifle scope being thrown from the speeding vehicle.
Once the trio got to the northeast community of Rundle, Lemke stopped the car and all three got out and ran, trying to hide from police. Lemke hid in a bush near a home.
All three were spotted and arrested at the scene.
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