Calgary man with violent past admits to murdering mother with shotgun
Levi Romeo Mitchell killed his mother Deborah Ann Mitchell on Oct. 30, 2021
A Calgary man with a long criminal history for violent offences has admitted to fatally shooting his mother with a shotgun.
Levi Romeo Mitchell, 31, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Tuesday, one week before his trial was set to begin.
When he killed his mother, Mitchell was on bail for 12 criminal offences including weapons charges.
He admitted that on Oct. 30, 2021, during an argument with his mother, Deborah Ann Mitchell, he shot her twice with a sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun.
At the time, the two were living together in the basement apartment of a home in the northeast community of Pineridge. Levi was her only child.
The argument began around 8 a.m., court heard.
Throughout the night, Deborah, who struggled with drug addiction, took fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine, according to an agreed statement of facts (ASF) read aloud by prosecutor Gregory Whiteside.
Levi fired 2 shots
By 8:30 a.m., the argument — which the upstairs tenants could hear — moved into a bedroom.
The victim armed herself with a can of bear spray, according to the ASF.
But Mitchell stood outside the bedroom with the sawed-off shotgun.
He fired twice, hitting his mother in the upper torso and shoulder area. She died within minutes.
One of the shotgun pellets hit the bear spray and burst the can, causing it to fill the room.
Levi hid the gun in the furnace ducts and called 911.
Killer was 'upset' when police arrived
Police arrived within about 25 minutes and found Mitchell with blood stains and bear spray on his pants.
He "presented as upset," according to the ASF.
The victim's body was in the hallway.
A second-degree murder conviction comes with an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 10 to 25 years.
A sentencing hearing will take place next week. Defence lawyer Shaun Leochko indicated he and prosecutors Tom Buglass and Gregory Whiteside will put a joint proposal before Justice Blair Nixon.
A violent past
Since 2015, Mitchell has served at least five jail sentences for various offences, including assault causing bodily harm, assault, drug possession, and weapons offences.
Some of those offences took place while he was on bail, some while he was in prison.
In 2019, he was handed a six-year sentence after firing several shots into a home with a woman and four children inside.
In February 2021, his statutory release was revoked when the Parole Board of Canada ruled he was too high a risk to the community.
The board noted that while serving his sentence, Mitchell's "problematic behaviour" included committing aggravated assault, having concealed weapons, refusing to be drug tested and getting involved in the drug sub-culture.
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