Appeal denied for man convicted in 2019 murder in Airdrie, Alta.

Police tape blocks off a home at the centre of an investigation into a shooting in the City of Airdrie on September 7, 2019.

The Alberta Court of Appeal has denied the request of an Airdrie man to set aside his murder conviction in the fatal shooting of his neighbour in 2019.

Michael Antony Roebuck was convicted of first-degree murder in 2022 and sentenced to life in prison for the brutal slaying of Daniel MacDonald, his former friend, on Sept. 7, 2019.

According to testimony heard at trial, the pair of men had known each other for about five years, but "their relationship changed" when they decided to start a cannabis operation together.

A conflict began over the harvesting of the marijuana, descending into accusations from Roebuck that MacDonald was stealing supplies of the drug from him.

"Mr. Roebuck became increasingly hostile and aggressive," the court documents said, attributing part of his behaviour on a drug dependence that began after he was injured in a workplace accident.

"A neighbour said Mr. Roebuck told her that he had found someone 'to take care of Dan,' and on another occasion that 'something bad is going to happen to Dan.'"

• Sign up for breaking news alerts from CTV News, right at your fingertips
• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

At 4:45 p.m. on Sept. 7, 2019, both men met each other at a gas station near where they lived.

The court heard that they got into a verbal argument, which led to a physical fight where MacDonald knocked Roebuck to the ground.

Roebuck left the gas station and arrived back at his home at 4:55 p.m., then went down to his basement to retrieve a "tactical" shotgun.

"He loaded the shotgun with five shells and walked back upstairs, shotgun in hand," the court document said. "Video footage shows that he re-entered his garage, leaving against his car while holding the shotgun, and looked outside the open garage door toward Mr. MacDonald's house."

When MacDonald returned a few minutes later, Roebuck left his garage and hid behind the Jeep that his victim was sitting in.

"When Mr. MacDonald got out of his truck, Mr. Roebuck stepped around the Jeep and confronted him, pushing the muzzle of his shotgun into Mr. MacDonald's face," officials said.

"He said Mr. MacDonald's attitude changed 'really fast' and he lowered the shotgun to point at Mr. MacDonald's abdomen."

During the trial, Roebuck testified that MacDonald grabbed the shotgun and pulled it toward himself, but the judge didn't believe that occurred.

"The evidence of the forensic pathologisy was that the shotgun was fired from about three to four feet away from Mr. MacDonald," the court said.

"Within two to five seconds," Roebuck shot the victim a second time as he was lying face down on the ground from about two to three feet away.

The trial judge found Roebuck fired two shots to ensure MacDonald was dead.

The court heard that Roebuck went back to his home and hid in some bushes in his backyard.

When RCMP arrived later, he eventually surrendered, telling them the killing wouldn't have happened if MacDonald hadn't punched him at the gas station.

'No reviewable error'

At his appeal hearing on April 11, Roebuck claimed the conviction was unreasonable because the Crown did not prove he intended to kill MacDonald.

During the appeal hearing, Roebuck said "a carefully thought-out scheme had to have been considered and weighed prior to implementation and time taken to contemplate the benefits and drawbacks of that plan before acting on it."

The appeal court disagreed, saying the trial judge made "no reviewable error."

"He calculated a scheme or design that he thought out over the course of driving home, going into the basement, retrieving the shotgun, suppressor or silencer, and ammunition, and sitting in his garage waiting for Mr. MacDonald to arrive.

"It was a simple and direct plan to kill Mr. MacDonald. It was not impulsive.

"Mr. Roebuck had 11 minutes to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of his intended action and he never deviated from it."