2nd man accused of aiding Mountie killer gets bail

Dennis Cheeseman, the second of two men accused of helping James Roszko kill four Mounties in northern Alberta in 2005, will be allowed out on bail, a court of Queen's Bench Justice in Edmonton decided Monday.

The new came just hours before a preliminary hearing for Cheeseman, 23 and his brother-in-law, Shawn Hennessey, 28, began in the afternoon in Stony Plain, just west of Edmonton. It will determine if there is enough evidence to send the two to trial.

The men were arrested last July and charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of constables Brock Myrol, Peter Schiemann, Anthony Gordon and Leo Johnston at a farm near Mayerthorpe, Alta.

The Mounties were shot by Roszko, who then killed himself.

'This is a very good day': accused's aunt

Cheeseman and Hennessey are accused of aiding and abetting Roszko, even though police said neither suspect pulled the trigger or was even there when the officers were killed.

Hennessey was released on $550,000 bail last month.

Details of Cheeseman's bail hearing can't be reported under a publication ban. He is to be released from jail, where he has been since his arrest, on Friday.

"I am thrilled, again, this is a very good day," said Criss Hennessey, Shawn's aunt, speaking for the two families.

The Crown is proposing that bail be set at $254,000 for Cheeseman, with most of the money put up in the form of property by family members.

Criss Hennessey said she is pleased that the family members own enough property to cover the bond, and they were not worried about any risk.

"We have total faith in both of them that they will abide by all their conditions and nobody is the least bit worried or they would not have put anything up," she said.

Under his bail conditions, Cheeseman can have no contact with Hennessey.

The preliminary hearing for the two is expected to last about a month.