Roszko had eight guns in Mayerthorpe, inquiry hears

An officer who specializes in tracing firearms says of the eight guns James Roszko had around him at the time of his death, one was smuggled across the border, several had been stolen, and none were legally registered.

“From my investigation … James Roszko had a wanton disregard for any legislation as it pertains to firearms or any kinds of weapons,” Sgt. Dale Baumgartner said on Tuesday, testifying at a fatality inquiry into the deaths of four RCMP officers near Mayerthorpe in March 2005.

Baumgartner testified that the semi-automatic used to shoot the four officers had been imported by an Edmonton man in the 1980s and then sold to Roszko.

The pistol tucked into Roszko’s belt at the murder scene was first purchased at a Utah pawnshop by a friend of Roszko’s in the early 1990s, then bought by Roszko and brought across the border, the inquiry heard.

The other weapon on Roszko during the shootings, a bolt action rifle, was initially reported stolen by a relative of Shawn Hennessey. (Hennessey later admitted to giving the firearm and ammunition to Roszko.)

Baumgartner said three of the firearms found on Roszko’s property had been stolen from a cabin near Barrhead in 1997. There are no records of how Roszko came into possession of the other two firearms.

Baumgartner testified there is no indication Roszko ever had a firearms license or acquisition certificate.

At the time of the shootings, Roszko was also barred from having any firearms or prohibited weapons because of a previous criminal conviction.

Roszko shot and killed Constables Leo Johnston, Anthony Gordon, Peter Schiemann and Brock Myrol inside a Quonset on Roszko’s property on March 3, 2005. The fatality inquiry is examining the circumstances around the deaths.