Sentenced Shawn Hennessey and Dennis Cheeseman to 15 years and 12 years, respectively, for their role in the 2005 murders of four Alberta Mounties

Sentenced Shawn Hennessey and Dennis Cheeseman to 15 years and 12 years, respectively, for their role in the 2005 murders of four Alberta Mounties. Hennessey, 29, and his brother-in-law Cheeseman, 25, had been charged with first-degree murder but, last week, pleaded guilty to lesser charges of manslaughter. On Friday, Justice Eric Macklin delivered the sentences but said both men will have their actual jail time reduced by about five years because of time served and because they pleaded guilty before a trial. In an agreed statement of facts, the men said they provided a rifle and ammunition to James Roszko, then drove him to his Mayerthorpe, Alta. property. Roszko, using a different rifle, then murdered Constables Brock Myrol, Anthony Gordon, Leo Johnston and Peter Schiemann, on March 3, 2005 before turning the gun on himself. The Mounties were staking out Roszko's property, guarding evidence that was part of an investigation into stolen auto parts and a marijuana grow-op. The tragedy was one of the darkest days in the history of the RCMP, marking the worst single-day loss of life in more than a century.

The Crown had sought a sentence of 10 to 15 years while the defence was seeking four years less time served. Cheeseman and Hennessey spent close to 10 months in pre-trial custody following a preliminary hearing last year. They were eventually released on bail under strict conditions. Prior to the sentencing, Hennessey's father, Barry Hennessey, said he was worried the judge's sentencing decision may be influenced by a recording of a confession made by Cheeseman.Undercover RCMP officers posing as criminals taped Cheeseman admitting to them that he knew Roszko was planning to kill the Mounties. "Well, obviously we knew that he was going back to kill RCMP officers," Cheeseman admits on the tape."He said he was pretty much going to take care of business." The tape, which was recording during an RCMP sting, was unsealed after the pleas were entered last week. "You think the judge won't hear this?" Barry Hennessey asked from his home near Barrhead in an interview with The Canadian Press. "It is not fair. It is not right that they released all of this." He said Cheeseman was scared because he thought the undercover officers were real criminals."He was scared for his life," he said. "He thought they were Hells Angels."