Third person admits to Furby Street slaying

A third accused has admitted responsibility in the killing of an innocent stranger that was sparked by an argument with an 11-year-old boy.

Raoul Wes-Tyson Bradley Harper, 20, pleaded guilty to manslaughter Tuesday for his part in the August 2023 shooting death of 38-year-old Cory Roger Roulette.

“It is acknowledged that Raoul Harper was intoxicated at the time of the offence and has a limited memory of some of the following facts and no memory of others, but ultimately agrees the Crown can establish the elements of the offence beyond a reasonable doubt,” prosecutor Jennifer Comack told King’s Bench Justice Sadie Bond, reading from an agreed statement of facts.

Co-accused Ramona Harriette Harper, Raoul Harper’s sister, pleaded guilty last month to manslaughter, while their cousin Kyle Alex Harper pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

According to the agreed statement of facts, Ramona Harper and another woman were walking past Roulette’s apartment building at 583 Furby St. at about 11 p.m. when Harper kicked over some garbage cans. That caught the attention of an 11-year-old boy who was visiting Roulette and standing on his second-floor balcony.

The boy and Harper yelled at each other, with the boy threatening to shoot Harper. Harper left, saying, “I’m going to get my brothers and shoot the place up.”

Harper returned to her Langside Street home a short walk away and “incited” Raoul and Kyle to accompany her to the apartment building and “violently confront” the occupant of the second-floor suite.

Raoul was armed with a collapsible baton and Kyle with a loaded, sawed-off rifle when the trio broke the door to Roulette’s suite open. Once inside, Raoul beat Roulette about the body and face with the baton before Kyle shot him once in the chest.

The attackers fled, and a neighbour called 911. Roulette was taken to Health Sciences Centre, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

All three offenders remain in custody and are set to be sentenced in July.

Court did not hear what sentences Crown and defence lawyers will be recommending. Manslaughter sentences can range from probation to life in prison. The minimum sentence for second-degree murder is life in prison with no eligibility for parole for 10 years.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca