Man guilty of manslaughter in homeless man's shooting

Robert Matthews, 28, has been found guilty of manslaughter in the shooting death of homeless man Jordan Jacques-Vetten, who refused to hand over his backpack during a robbery attempt.

On Tuesday, Court of King's Bench Justice Lisa Silver ruled that the Crown had not proven the intent required for a murder conviction. While Silver found Matthews "wanted to commit crimes that night and was willing to commit violence," she said prosecutors had only shown he fired the shot "with the intent to cause bodily harm," not murder.

Matthews will be sentenced at a later date.

Court evidence showed that in the early morning hours of September 9, 2023, Matthews and his 17-year-old friend made a plan to rob ATMs. Just before 4 a.m., the two came across Jacques-Vetten walking in Capitol Hill after finishing his shift as a line cook at a downtown restaurant. "Mr. Vetten was walking home with his life's belongings in his backpack," Silver noted. The backpack contained toiletries, his birth certificate, Febreze, and an ID card from a local homeless shelter.

When the two demanded his backpack, Jacques-Vetten refused. Matthews shot him.

Key Crown evidence included testimony from a girl who was in a relationship with Matthews at the time. She was 13 years old in 2023. According to her testimony, Matthews told her he shot Jacques-Vetten because he "didn't give up his belongings" and that he was "in big trouble." He also told her to check the Calgary news.

Silver found that Matthews wrote a crumpled "confession" letter discovered by police in a garbage bin at his friend's home: "Last night I shot a man in the upper torso because he wouldn't give me his backpack. I heard a gurgling that sounded very authentic. I hope he died because he deserved to for being so naive in the world."

The friend, who can only be identified as CD due to a publication ban, was also convicted of manslaughter and received a three-year youth sentence. Earlier this year, Matthews pleaded guilty to stabbing a jail guard with a homemade shank while housed at the Calgary Remand Centre and received an eight-month sentence.