Four-week murder trial begins for 2 men in 2024 highway shooting near Calgary

The Calgary Courts Centre is pictured in Calgary, Monday, May 6, 2024. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

Two men charged in a 2024 deadly roadside shooting near Calgary have pleaded not guilty.

Arthur Wayne Penner and Elijah Blake Strawberry entered the pleas as the jurors assembled Monday on the first day of the trial in Court of King’s Bench.

Each face one count of second-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

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The trial is set to last a month.

The shooting occurred along a roadway in Rocky View County, east of Calgary after police say a stolen truck was set on fire.

Colin Hough, 45, spotted the fire and pulled over, believing the two men near the flaming vehicle needed help.

He died while another man was seriously injured.

Penner, 37, is from Edmonton. Strawberry, 29, is from O’Chiese First Nation. 

They were formally arraigned and the 12-woman, two-man jury sworn in.

“You are the judges of the facts,” Justice Shane Parker urged them.

“Use your common sense and experience.

“Don’t jump to conclusions. As the saying goes don’t judge a book by its cover.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4, 2026.