Two people have been charged in connection with a drug-related murder in the north end of Halifax last month.
Corey Duane Lucas, 36, was gunned down inside an apartment on Clifton Street on May 25 and two men were seen running away from the building after the shooting.
Police say 20-year-old Dylan Peter Roach of Halifax faces a charge of first-degree murder in connection with Lucas' death. He was arrested Wednesday at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Burnside where he is incarcerated on another matter.
Roach is also charged with the attempted murder of 31-year-old William Lee Boliver, who was shot and injured in the same incident.
"What happened to Corey Lucas should not happen to anyone, and when a member of our community is killed as a result of violence, it affects us all," said RCMP Chief Superintendent Jean-Michel Blais at a news conference Monday morning. "It affects how we view and how we feel about where we live. This is why we as police will continue to do all we can to bring those responsible for the drugs and violence plaguing our community to justice."
Jenna Karlene Piercy of Prospect, N.S. has been charged with accessory after the fact in connection with the case. The 27-year-old was arrested without incident on Friday in Fall River, N.S.
She was also charged with drug possession for the purpose of trafficking in relation to a search conducted at a Kelly Point Road home in Prospect on May 28.
"The charges we are announcing today are the result of an extensive police investigation that utilized a wide range of resources from HRP and the RCMP," said Halifax Regional Police Deputy Chief Bill Moore. "I would like to take this opportunity to publically thank everyone involved in bringing this investigation to this critical point."
The charges come roughly a month after three separate shooting incidents occurred in the city in three days and police are urging members of the public to step forward with information that could help move their investigations forward.
"Much of the violence we are seeing in HRM is the result of competing street-level drug dealers who are using firearms more aggressively and violently then in the past to settle their disputes," said Blais. "While many people turn a blind eye to drug activity, the reality is that with drugs comes violence and this case is an unfortunate reminder of that. We urge residents to report illicit drug activity."
Last month's shooting incident wasn't the only time police were called to the apartment building on Clifton Street. Officials with the Nova Scotia Justice Department announced Monday that they ordered the eviction of two people at the same address. They left on June 22, and the rest of the tenants have been ordered out pending renovations of the building.
Roach is scheduled to appear in Halifax provincial court tomorrow while Piercy appeared in court today.
Police say they are continuing to follow leads in an attempt to identify another suspect in the shooting.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Ron Shaw
