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Eric Ellefson, 28, was shot to death January 7th, 2006.

Darren Gary Rowland, 25, was charged with first degree murder, possession of an unauthorised restricted weapon, use of a firearm in the commission of an offence, and unauthorised possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle.

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It only took seven days for Edmonton to record its first homicide of 2006.

At around 9 a.m. neighbours in the area of 122 Avenue and 61 Street saw a truck oddly parked against a berm that separates area homes from Yellowhead Trail. The truck's engine was running.

A call was made to 911 to report the suspicous vehicle but the person was told to phone back later as police computers were down.

A witness later went closer to examine the truck and described seeing what appeared to be a gunshot hole in the truck's driver-side window –, and a man wearing a checkered shirt slumped behind the steering wheel suffering from obvious head trauma.

Another call to 911 was made at 12:42 p.m. and police arrived within minutes.

Police determined the man was dead, sealed off the area and called in homicide detectives.

A homicide detective at the scene said the man, identified as Eric Ellefson, suffered head trauma and likely had been shot. The detective also said that there appeared to be a bullet hole coming outside the driver's-side window.

Investigators later found a bullet hole in a nearby fence and another hole was found in the side of a house. The owner of the house figured the trajectory suggested Ellefson was shot by someone in the passenger seat of the truck.

The truck, a late-model black quad cab, had travelled north on a dead-end alley between 60th and 61st Street and came to rest on the berm that forms the northern perimeter of the neighbourhood. Police believe Ellefson's shooter was inside the truck and then bailed out.

Ellefson, a pipefitter, was on stress leave and had taken on renters in a house he had recently purchased from his mother. Joan Ellefson told media that one of her son's roomates had disappeared two days before the killing, and that Eric had received an upsetting call just before he was found dead in his truck.

On January 10th autopsy results were released that indicated Ellefson died from a single gunshot wound to head.

Police announced on January 19th 2006 that an arrest had been made the day before in connection with Ellefson's homicide.

Rowland's mother Frances told a local newspaper that her son and Ellefson were friends "since their school days" and that Darren and his girlfriend had even attended Ellefson's funeral.

In an interview with the Edmonton Journal, Eric's mother Joan speculated her son might have walked into a trap when he went to rescue a friend.

Eric had recently taken in four renters that he didn't know that well and had started to hang out with a "rough and dangerous" crowd.

"He was a good-hearted person and he had taken some people into his house," Joan said.

"I sold him my home last year for half price ... I wanted to give him a good start."

Joan said she would often stop by the house after work, trying to encourage Eric to get those people out of the house. Ironically, two days before he was killed, one of the roommates disappeared.

She thinks the urgent call Eric received caused him to go out and look for his missing tenant.

"It was a trap," she said, admitting she didn't know the whole story yet as she waiting for police to fill her in.

She also didn't know if her son used drugs to deal with his stress, caused by a near-accident at work involving flying concrete blocks.

"He reassured me he was clean, but I'm not entirely convinced that was the case, with the people he was living with."

Eric grew up in Edmonton and attended Highlands junior high school and Eastglen high school. He picked up pipefitting at NAIT and hsi work aoften to took him to Fort McMurray, Joan said.

He was an animal lover who always had a dog by his side. He had always been active, first with skateboarding, then on dirt bikes. In the summer, he loved to go water skiing, Joan recalled.

On October 20th, 2006 the Crown withdrew its charge of first-degree murder against Darren Gary Rowland.

Rowland pleaded guilty to an unrelated weapons charge, received time served and was immediately released from custody.

Rowland had been awaiting trial in the Edmonton Remand Centre since he was charged with killing Ellefson on January 7th, 2006. He had served the equivalent of 20 months.

Provincial court Judge David Tilley also prohibited Rowland from possessing weapons for 10 years.

Court heard police had executed a search warrant at Rowland’s home and found a loaded Remington shotgun under his bed.

Crown prosecutor Elizabeth Wheaton said the murder charge was withdrawn because "there was no reasonable likelihood of conviction."

Wheaton said the shotgun found under the bed was not the weapon used in the killing.

When he was charged, police believed Rowland was inside Ellefson’s pickup truck when the the fatal shot was fired. The murder weapon was never found.

Defence lawyer Greg Worobec said Rowland always maintained he had not killed Ellefson and was happy the murder charge was withdrawn.

A preliminary hearing in the case had been scheduled to begin in November 2006.

On May 29th, 2008 developments in a drug trial revealed that police had a second man under suspicion in connection with Ellefson's murder.

As part of the initial investigation of the January 7th, 2006 shooting, police went to the home of Gavin Annett, a high school friend of Ellefson.

Something at Annett's home caused them to obtain a search warrant for a neighbouring house where 18 pounds of marijuana was found, along with a plastic baggy containing a fingerprint belonging to Annett.

Several days later police executed another search warrant at another home and discovered a pot-growing operation with 220 mature plants.

Later that month police searched two other north-side homes, finding 189 plants in one home and 601 in the other.

Annett faced six charges involving the cultivation and trafficking of marijuana. He was found guilty of two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking and one of marijuana cultivation in connection with the 189 plant house.

Also accused in the drug matter was Michael Waskul, who was found guilty of cultivation and trafficking charges.

It came out in court that Annett's drug charges arose from the police investigation of Ellefson’s homicide.

It was further confirmed by homicide Det. Bill Clark, who was also in court, that Annett remains a suspect in Ellefson’s murder, in addition to Darren Rowland who earlier had first-degree murder charges against him dropped.

“We still consider both of them to be suspects in the homicide,” Clark said, adding the investigation was still ongoing.

Eric's mother and aunt clapped when Annett was found guilty. They both attended the lengthy trial of Annett and his co-accused and lauded the judge's decision in the case to “get justice” for their slain son and nephew.

“They caught him as a result of my son's death. We want him put away so other people won't be afraid,” Joan said.

Annett was a pall bearer at Ellefson's funeral.

Ironically, Annett remains the registered owner of the house where the 189 plants were seized. Marijuana continues to be grown there as it is now a federally funded pot growing operation.

The Crown said it was seeking prison time for Annett, while defence lawyers for the pair were seeking conditional sentences to be served in the community.

On September 11th, 2008 Gavin Annett was sentenced to 30 months in prison.

Court of Queen's Bench Justice Donna Shelley noted the increasing problem of marijuana grow-ops and the large amounts of profit and told Annett his offences were "very grave" and his criminal responsibility was "quite high."

She had rejected Annett's request for house arrest and plus a large fine.

Annett was also slated to appear in court the next day on additional marijuana cultivation and trafficking charges.

Shelley handed co-accused Michael Waskul a two-year conditional sentence to be served in the community, including 12 months of house arrest, for his role as grow-up cropsitter in a home Annett owned.

The Edmonton Sun's Tony Blais related a story demonstrating Annett's cocky attitude toward the charges.

During the lunch break at Annett's sentencing hearing, detectives Pat McCormack and Bill Clark were walking near the Law Courts building as Annett and a buddy pulled up to a red light in an SUV sporting a vanity licence plate reading "Hydro."

As the officers looked over, Annett blew a kiss at McCormack.

Hopefully for the young man, it will be his last kiss until he gets out of jail.

deadmonton 2006 - eric ellefson