A southern Alberta man who was arrested after he allegedly fired at a pair of trespassers on his property in February has chosen to be tried by a judge and jury.

Mounties were called to Edouard Maurice’s farm in Okotoks on February 24 to investigate a report of shots fired on the property.

Maurice told the responding officer that he found two people rummaging through some vehicles that he owned and admitted that he’d fired some shots, resulting in the suspects fleeing the scene.

Police began a search for the suspects and soon located 41-year-old Ryan Watson.

Watson was found to be suffering from an injury to his arm.

RCMP ended up arresting both men at the scene, charging Maurice with aggravated assault, pointing a firearm and careless use of a firearm.

At Maurice’s first court appearance on March 9, he was met by a large group of supporters who felt that he shouldn’t have been charged because he was merely protecting his property.

“We’re sick of the crime,” said Linda Bereth, a Beiseker farmer who attended the rally outside the courthouse. “I’m sure he wasn’t sitting there in his house thinking ‘I’m going to shoot somebody today’. Who wants to do that? Nobody wants to do that. No one, we don’t want to have to do that but we’re getting pushed into a corner where we are frightened and we’ve had enough.”

During his second court appearance on Friday, Maurice was met by a group of about 50 supporters, many of whom shook his hand as he went into the courthouse in Okotoks.

His lawyer, Tonii Roulston, says that Maurice will be pleading not guilty and elected to be tried by a jury.

He would have formally entered a plea on Friday, but Roulston is awaiting additional disclosure in the case before taking that step.

She says it is a case of where the individual has a clear right to defend his property and his family.

Watson was charged with trespassing, mischief to property, theft under $5,000, possession of methamphetamine and failure to comply.

A second suspect, 30-year-old Stephanie Ann Martens of Okotoks, was arrested on March 13 and charged with trespassing, theft under $5,000 and mischief to property.

Maurice’s next court date is April 20.

(With files from the Canadian Press)