A man accused of fatally shooting an Ontario Provincial Police officer and wounding two others while they conducted a wellness check was found guilty of murder and other charges Saturday.
Alain Bellefeuille was convicted on one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder in connection with a May 11, 2023, shooting that left OPP Sgt. Eric Mueller dead.
The verdict was delivered by a jury in Superior Court in L’Orignal, Ont.
Bellefeuille was automatically sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years for the first-degree murder charge. Two 20-year prison sentences for each attempted murder charge will be served concurrently.
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He also faces a lifetime prohibition from owning or using a firearm.
Prosecutors said Mueller and the other two officers, constables Mark Lauzon and François Gamache-Asselin, were shot when they responded to a report of a disturbance at a home in Bourget, east of Ottawa. Mueller later died in hospital.
Bellefeuille did not deny that he shot the officers but denied it was premeditated. At the time, OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique said the officers were “ambushed.”
In a joint statement released after the verdict, Carrique, Ontario Provincial Police Association president John Cerasuolo and the Mueller family said the testimony and evidence presented in court — including body camera footage of the shooting — “significantly intensified the emotional impact we have all felt since that heartbreaking day.”
“Today’s verdict reinforces our focus on what Sgt. Mueller stood for — an unwavering commitment to the community and to the safety and protection of others,” the statement said.
“It also acknowledges the life-changing impact felt by (Lauzon and Gamache-Asselin), who exhibited the highest standard of bravery in the face of life-threatening and life-altering danger.”
Mueller, a 42-year-old father of two who served the OPP for over two decades, was described as an exemplary officer by his colleagues and those who paid their final respects at his funeral in 2023.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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