3 charged with manslaughter in connection with drug-related shooting in Prince George
The charges are in relation to a 2016 killing
Update, Nov. 15, 2023: Correctional Service Canada released a statement on Oct. 27, 2023 confirming that Kelly Richet died while in custody at Mountain Institution.
On Nov. 15, 2023, the B.C. Prosecution Service confirmed to CBC News that the proceedings against Chris Russell and Cuyler Aubichon were stayed on July 19 and Oct. 3 respectively. Prosecutors determined that the evidence no longer met their standard for charge approval.
Original story:
Three men have been arrested and charged in connection to a deadly shooting in Prince George, B.C., more than five years ago.
Officers made the arrests on Friday, according to RCMP. Cuyler Aubichon, Kelly Richet and Chris Russell were each charged the same day with one count of manslaughter using a firearm, court records show.
The charges relate to a shooting in the city on June 15, 2016.
Robert Milligan, 33, was found shot dead in the driveway of his home on Forest Avenue near Ospika Boulevard. He'd been targeted for his links to the local drug trade, according to investigators.
Aubichon, Richet and Russell are all known to police.
Lawsuit against RCMP
Aubichon has an ongoing lawsuit against the RCMP over injuries he sustained in a different arrest in 2016 — four months before Milligan's death.
Video of the arrest captured by a backyard camera appeared to show a man being pulled from a truck and onto the ground by a police dog. An officer then appeared to strike the man several times while the dog continues to engage.
Three RCMP officers were criminally charged in relation to the arrest in June 2020.
Aubichon sued the RCMP the following month for alleged excessive force. The Crown denied the allegations and said in its response that "any force used against the plaintiff was reasonable and justified."
The claim is still working its way through the courts.
Aubichon, Richet and Russell are set to make their next court appearances on the manslaughter charges in Williams Lake on Tuesday.
With files from Betsy Trumpener