EDMONTON — A judge has denied bail to a man accused of killing two Metis hunters northeast of Edmonton.

Jacob Sansom, 39, and Maurice Cardinal, 57, were shot and killed on a rural road near Glendon, Alta., in March.

Anthony Bilodeau, 31, and Roger Bilodeau, 56, both face two counts of second-degree murder.

The younger Bilodeau was denied bail in an Edmonton courtroom on Tuesday.

Members of the Metis Nation of Alberta rallied outside the courthouse prior to the bail hearing, with many holding signs saying “No Justice No Peace” and “Their Lives Matter” with pictures of Sansom and Cardinal.

A statement from the group says both victims were citizens of the Metis Nation.

Family and friends have said the two were hunting to feed their families when they were killed.

RCMP have said a verbal confrontation escalated into a fight between the occupants of two vehicles parked on the road northeast of Edmonton when Sansom and Cardinal were shot.

“Our communities must feel safe as we work to uphold our traditional ways of life, including harvesting,” said a statement Tuesday from the Metis Nation of Alberta.

“The MNA maintains a strong stand against violence and racism in all its ugly forms.”

Sansom’s wife, Sarah Sansom, said in an interview last month that she wasn’t sure if racism played a role in the deaths, adding she couldn’t understand why it happened.

Outside court Tuesday, she said she hasn’t slept in two-and-a-half months but may be able to now.

“I can sleep tonight,” she said of the bail decision.

“My kids don’t have to be afraid. I don’t have to be afraid.” (CTV and The Canadian Press)

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2020.

The Canadian Press

Rangers have been hit with two Scottish FA charges over the conduct of staff and players during matches in December.

One charge relates to December 29’s Old Firm victory over Celtic, with the other for their 3-0 win over Hibs.

Both Rangers and Hibs have been cited under Rule 204 for a touchline incident between the two’s coaching staff at Easter Road on December 20.

The flashpoint resulted in the Edinburgh side’s assistant John Potter and Ibrox coach Tom Culshaw being dismissed to the stands.

Rule 204 states that clubs should ensure that officials, staff, employees and players “conduct themselves in an orderly fashion at all times during and/or after a match”.

The clubs face a fine if the charges are proven, and the two individuals have each been charged with misconduct under Rule 203 and face suspension.

The Old Firm charge includes the dismissal of coach Michael Beale from the touchline.

Beale faces a touchline ban after being cited individually for misconduct under Rule 203.

The two charges for Rangers have a principle hearing date of February 6, as do the charges faced by Hibs, Potter, Culshaw and Beale.

The full wording of Rule 204 states: “All Clubs and recognised football bodies shall procure that its officials, Team Staff, employees and players conduct themselves in an orderly fashion at all times during and/or after a match.

“In particular, Clubs and recognised football bodies are responsible for ensuring that its officials, Team Staff, employees and players refrain from any one or a combination of the following: (a) becoming involved in a confrontation (b) conduct that is likely to lead to or to exacerbate or prolong a hostile or argumentative situation with players and/or team staff from the opposing team and/or match officials (c) conduct that may otherwise incite disorder.”

Gestures made towards the crowd by Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos during the Old Firm game also caused controversy, with the SFA saying Morelos received a booking for the gesture he made towards Celtic fans as he walked off the pitch after being red-carded by referee Kevin Clancy.

Neither player has been cited in the round of charges issued today.

OLATHE, Kan. — A Kansas State basketball player is now facing charges in connection to a road rage shooting on Interstate 435.

Amaad Wainright was arrested by U.S. Marshals on Tuesday in Kansas City, officials said. The junior guard was arrested on felony warrants out of Johnson County, Kansas.

Amaad Wainright

U.S. Marshal Ron Miller said the warrant was issued for Wainwright on March 28 for fleeing and eluding and felony obstruction.

On Wednesday he was transferred to Johnson County Jail and formally charged with harboring, concealing or aiding a person who committed a felony and fleeing and eluding police.

Overland Park Police spokesman John Lacy confirmed to FOX4 that Wainright’s arrest is in connection to a Jan. 17, 2018 road rage shooting on Interstate 435.

A court date has not yet been scheduled.

In a statement released Tuesday, Kansas State Athletics Director Gene Taylor said Wainright has been indefinitely suspended from the basketball team.

“We are aware of Ahmad’s situation, and due to the seriousness of the charges he has been indefinitely suspended from our men’s basketball team per athletic department policy,” Taylor said. “We take matters such as these very seriously and will re-evaluate his status as we learn more information.”

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Ronald Gasser, in a booking photo released by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, was sentenced on Thursday to 30 years in prison for shooting dead ex-NFL player Joe McKnight in 2016.

AP

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AP

Ronald Gasser, in a booking photo released by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, was sentenced on Thursday to 30 years in prison for shooting dead ex-NFL player Joe McKnight in 2016.

AP

A man convicted of manslaughter in the 2016 shooting death of former NFL running back Joe McKnight in what prosecutors and witnesses described as a road rage incident, was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in prison.

“Let this be a cautionary tale to all drivers who rage behind the wheel of their car at other drivers,” Jefferson Parish District Judge Ellen Kovach said at Ronald Gasser’s sentencing, according to NOLA.com. Tragedy could have been avoided, Kovach said, if either man “had the good sense, the courage and the wisdom to simply disengage.”

The men did not know each other but on Dec. 1, 2016, their paths crossed when McKnight, 28, reportedly cut off Gasser, now 56, on a New Orleans bridge, angering him, as Tegan Wendland of WWNO reported. Then in what prosecutors described as a tit-for-tat pursuit of several miles, each man periodically pulled up beside the other and shouted obscenities.

They pulled over about five miles away at a busy intersection just outside the city and argued. Then Gasser, seated behind the wheel of his vehicle, shot McKnight — who was standing outside unarmed — three times, killing him.

That Gasser shot McKnight dead was not in question, he remained at the scene and confessed to police. But Gasser said it was self-defense.

His attorneys argued at trial that their client committed justifiable homicide under the state’s Castle Doctrine, because Gasser remained in his vehicle — his own property — as McKnight lunged into the vehicle to attack, reports NOLA.com.

Yet prosecutors said forensic evidence showed McKnight was never as close as Gasser claimed. They said while McKnight did have a hand on Gasser’s open passenger side window, his clothes showed no sign of gun powder residue and his wounds were not consistent with being shot at close range, according to NOLA.com.

Gasser was not arrested until nearly a week after the shooting.

As WWNO’s Tegan Wendland reported at the time, “Deputies brought him in, questioned him for hours and then released him. … Protesters took to the streets, calling the sheriff’s department racist for releasing the white man after the death of an unarmed black man.”

Onetime New York Jets running back Joe McKnight photographed in 2013. The man convicted in his death was sentenced to three decades in prison on Thursday.

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Onetime New York Jets running back Joe McKnight photographed in 2013. The man convicted in his death was sentenced to three decades in prison on Thursday.

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Gasser was charged with second-degree murder but in January a jury found him guilty of the lesser crime of manslaughter.

At his sentencing hearing Thursday, McKnight’s mother, Jennifer, gave tearful testimony, telling Gasser, “You didn’t have to do that,” reports The Associated Press.

McKnight played three seasons with the New York Jets until 2012 and then briefly with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2014, until he tore his Achilles tendon.

Gasser’s attorneys are seeking a new trial.