Accused killer of five in 2023 West End mass shooting pleads not guilty

A man accused of killing five people in a 2023 shooting rampage at a West Broadway rooming house has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Crown prosecutor Chantal Boutin said Jamie Randy Felix pleaded not guilty to five counts of second-degree murder in Court of King’s Bench Monday.

Felix, 34, is accused of killing Melelek Leseri Lesikel, 29; Dylan Maxwell Lavallee, 41; Shawn Marko, 56; and sisters Crystal Shannon Beardy, 34, and Stephanie Amanda Beardy, 33, in the November 2023 Langside Street violence.

Marko, the lone survivor of the shooting, died in June after months in hospital and multiple surgeries following the attack.

Felix had been charged with attempted murder in relation to Marko’s injuries, but the charge was upgraded to second-degree murder after he died.

Felix previously served 11 years in the Canadian Armed Forces, where he held the rank of corporal. He has a brief court record, with one prior conviction for assault causing bodily harm — a charge that was reduced from aggravated assault.

At a provincial court hearing in March, Felix received a suspended sentence and two years of supervised probation for his involvement in an assault at a Watt Street apartment in August 2021.

Crown prosecutor Tim Chudy told Judge Sandra Chapman that Felix and the victim had attended a crowded party at the apartment. The victim, described as extremely intoxicated, left and began banging on other tenants’ doors. A scuffle broke out as the victim was escorted down the stairs, resulting in head injuries that required hospitalization. Felix turned himself in to police two days later and admitted his role in the incident.

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As part of his probation, Felix was ordered to seek treatment for alcohol use and write a letter of apology to the victim. Court was told he attempted to enter residential treatment at the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba but was unsuccessful. He had planned to attend a treatment program in Peguis First Nation during the summer.

Court also heard that Felix had experienced trauma earlier in life, faced challenges as a teenager and struggled with substance use, but had no prior criminal history.

According to court records, Felix is scheduled to stand trial in February. The charges against him have not yet been proven in court.

— with files from Erik Pindera

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca

Scott Billeck
Reporter

Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024.  Read more about Scott.

Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.