A man accused of killing a Saskatchewan RCMP officer during a traffic stop has been ordered to stand trial for first-degree murder.
Alphonse Stanley Traverse, 42, of Winnipeg was originally charged with manslaughter in the June 12, 2021, death of Const. Shelby Patton.
The charge was upgraded in November to first-degree murder.
Judge Douglas Kovatch, at the end of a three-day preliminary hearing on Thursday, ruled there is enough evidence to proceed with a trial on the murder charge.
Due to a publication ban, evidence at the hearing cannot be published.
The judge ordered Traverse to stand trial before a judge and jury in Regina’s Court of Queen’s Bench. A trial date has yet to be scheduled.
“While I am still mourning the loss of my son, there is some peace knowing Traverse will go to trial,” Melanie Patton, the mother of Shelby Patton, said in a statement Thursday.
RCMP have said 26-year-old Patton was hit by a vehicle in the town of Wolseley, east of Regina, after he stopped a suspected stolen truck.
“This incident was a horrible tragedy, the effects of which will be long-lasting and severe. There’s no question about that,” Traverse’s lawyer, Matthew Gould, said Thursday in a telephone interview from Winnipeg.
Marlene Velma Louise Pagee, 43, of Winnipeg was also charged with manslaughter in the officer’s death. However, the charge was changed to being an accessory after the fact of murder.
Her next court appearance is set for July 28.
