Drug dealer convicted in 2006 murder

A drug dealer has been found guilty of second-degree murder in a 2006 Calgary shooting.

Travis Jordan Brunet shot Preston Matthews outside a convenience store near the Eighth Street LRT platform on Nov. 19, 2006. Matthews later died in hospital.

Court of Queen's Bench Justice Allen Sulatycky found Brunet guilty on Monday, according to media reports.

"Given the prevalence of the use of handguns by the criminal element in this community and the deaths that result in this community from it, the courts have to send a clear message to the people who engage in this kind of activity," he said.

"If you bring a handgun on to the street and someone dies as a result, barring exceptional circumstances, you're going to jail for life, whether you're found guilty of murder or manslaughter."

Second-degree murder carries an automatic sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 to 25 years. Brunet returns to court in February for a sentencing hearing.

Brunet was already serving time for an unrelated crime at the Bowden Institution, a federal prison near Innisfail, Alta., at the time of his arrest. Investigators used still pictures and surveillance video from the scene to identify him.