Man who shot 2 Calgary fathers in 24 hours pleads guilty to manslaughter

Taylor Roan was high on crystal meth and fentanyl when he used the same shotgun to fatally wound two Calgary fathers over a 24-hour period, a judge heard Tuesday.

The mood in Calgary's high-security courtroom was tense as Roan, 27, pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter in the 2022 deaths of Trevor Dendy, 57, and Nathan Ward, 41.

Family members of both victims filled the gallery. There were tears and angry eruptions throughout the half-day hearing. 

Roan was originally charged with first-degree murder in Ward's death, but the Crown's key witness disappeared so the lawyers negotiated a plea to the lesser offence of manslaughter.

Details of Roan's crimes come from an agreed statement of facts (ASF) read aloud by prosecutor Suzanne Goldman.

Victim shot in front of daughter

Court heard that on the morning of November 11, 2022, Trevor Dendy and his daughter Ashley Dendy left their home. 

The plan was for Ashley to drive her dad to work in her Jeep.

When they walked out of their Castleridge home, Roan emerged from a hedge with a sawed-off shotgun pointed at Ashley.

The father and daughter handed over the keys and their cell phones.

Trevor ended up in a struggle with Roan over the firearm.

"The shotgun discharged and Trevor dropped to the ground," reads the ASF. 

'Covered … in my dad's blood'

Dendy had been shot in the back of his head. 

"I now have to live with what it feels like to look down the barrel of a gun," said Ashley Dendy in a victim impact statement read aloud in court.

"I know what it feels like to be covered up to my elbows in my dad's blood."

Roan and a female accomplice who was with him at the time took off. 

Dendy was conscious and in pain, and was taken to hospital. 

'He was never the same' 

For the next eight months, he "fought so hard to stay alive," according to his wife Roxane who also wrote a victim impact statement. 

But, she said "he was never the same."

Roxane says she spent "hours and hours on end hoping for a miracle." 

It never came. 

Her husband of 32 years was briefly discharged from hospital to a long-term care facility, but began to deteriorate and returned to hospital after two weeks.

Dendy died on July 29, 2023. 

2nd shooting

About 24 hours after Dendy was shot, Roan was at his home in Falconridge with a group of people including the woman who'd been his accomplice at the Dendy car-jacking the day before, as well as Nathan Ward.

Roan believed that Ward had an inappropriate interaction with the woman. 

He confronted him and Ward left.

Shortly after, Roan grabbed his shotgun and left the house, following after Ward.

Roan caught up to Ward in the alley behind the home and shot him twice, once in the face and once in the chest.

'Two innocent family men'

"There are times where words just don't meet the moment," said defence lawyer Andrea Urquhart. "This is one of those times."

"The devastation caused by Mr. Roan can not be overstated."

Both men left behind four children.

"You killed a loving family man," wrote Ward's niece Alissa in her victim impact statement. "You killed two innocent family men."

Ward's daughter, Nyla wrote that Roan "has taken everything from us."

Roan's apology

When given the chance to speak, Roan stood up and issued an apology. Two of Ward's family members stormed out of the courtroom. 

"I know I can't go back and change the past," he said. "I live with tremendous guilt and shame and remorse that words can not convey."

"I know there's nothing more that I could do or say. I'm sorry that you're here."

After an emotional morning, Justice Gillian Marriott said she would sentence Roan right away. 

"I think it is time for this to be over," said Marriott, addressing the victims' families. "This has no doubt been a traumatic and stressful experience that has changed the trajectory of your lives."

The judge handed Roan a 16-year prison sentence, as proposed by prosecutors Suzanne Goldman and Kevin Mark and defence lawyer Andrea Urquhart.

Roan has about three years credit for the time he's already served.