A suspect in a triple shooting in Chilliwack early Thursday that left two men dead and a woman wounded has been identified as a man with a lengthy criminal record who, according to media reports, was released from custody last month when an attempted murder charge was dropped.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said Monday that a Canada-wide arrest warrant has been issued for Aaron James David Douglas, 33, whose criminal record dates back to 1996 and who is believed to be armed and dangerous.
Douglas is a suspect in the deaths of 38-year-old Richard Blackmon and 36-year-old Tyler Belcourt at the Hawthorne Manor apartment building in the 46100-block of Gore Ave. A third victim — a woman whom IHIT says has survived the shooting—- is not being identified by investigators.
The motive behind the shooting was not immediately known.
“IHIT is asking the public to be vigilant and call 911 if you know the whereabouts of Aaron Douglas,” said St. Sgt. Jennifer Pound. “Do not approach him or attempt to apprehend him yourself as he may be armed and dangerous.”
According to a July 24 article in the Chilliwack Times, Douglas was released from custody in B.C. Supreme Court in Chilliwack in a surprising turn of events when an attempted murder charge was dropped.
The Times article said that two days after shooting victim Jeff Karpes testified in court, Crown counsel accepted a guilty plea from Douglas on one weapons charge and stayed the attempted murder charge.
"Based on the evidence that had gone before the court we decided there was no substantial likelihood of conviction," Crown lawyer Lori Stevens said in the Times article.
Douglas — who the Times said has been in custody for close to 19 months and who never asked for a bail hearing in that time — was sentenced to time served, three years probation, and ordered to have no contact with Karpes and the Crown's other witness Theresa Conlon.
Conlon is the mother of one of Douglas's children, and is currently married to Karpes.
Outside the courthouse, Douglas's first cousin Roxanne Peters and two of his friends awaited his release, the Times reported. "He's going to straighten out," Peters said of Douglas, who has convictions on weapons and drug charges.
Peters said Douglas's mother died of a drug overdose when he was four years old, and his father struggled with substance abuse.
"He's been dealt a lot of hard cards. Sometimes it's how you deal with life; you go one way or you go the other."
The Times reported that gunshot residue found on Douglas's clothing was found to be inconclusive evidence that he fired the gun on the day of the shooting, or even that it came from a gun.
The case against Douglas rested primarily on the witness testimony of Karpes who was hit by two bullets in the chest while sitting in a vehicle on Dec. 23, 2012.
"It's a whodunit if I can put it that way," Crown lawyer Pat Beirne said on the first day of the trial, the Times reported.
Karpes spoke through tears in B.C. Supreme Court, according to the Times, and explained how, as he lay there, he called 9-1-1.
"I told them I was shot," he said. "I told them that Aaron had shot me and that I just wanted my kids to know that I loved them."
Douglas has been found guilty of multiple counts of breach of probation, for resisting or obstructing a peace officer, possession of stolen property, both over and under $5,000, possession of a controlled substance, driving while prohibited, possession of a prohibited weapon and possession for the purpose of trafficking, among other offences.
Meanwhile, one of the victims of last Thursday's triple shooting in Chilliwack last week is being remembered as big-hearted man with a troubled past.
Before IHIT identified him, family and friends publicly mourned Richard Blackmon as one of the victims.
Blackmon’s younger brother Shawn Johnson said he woke up on the morning of the shooting with a “really bad feeling”. When he learned that his brother had been killed, it was a shock.
“I was depressed. I didn’t take it too well. I walked around like I was lost and confused,” Johnson said.
“All I could think about was, why did this have to happen to my brother?”
Johnson, who lives in Kamloops, said he hadn’t seen his brother in a few years, but he remembers Blackmon as a “really nice” man.
“He would do anything for anybody,” Johnson said. “But I know he did have an addiction problem … He’s been in and out of jail a lot of times.”
Johnson started a Facebook group in Blackmon’s memory, where friends and family have been posting condolences.
“I knew you for years, and you were always good to me, and those around me,” one person wrote. “You kept a lot of ladies, and friends safe over the years. May your soul rest in peace my dude.”
