The man accused of fatally shooting his girlfriend outside a halfway house in Toronto’s east end had a history of convictions related to past partners, documents show.
Aaron Shea, who is charged with the first-degree murder of his 34-year-old girlfriend Alisha Brooks, was out on statutory release on Sunday when the shooting took place, according to the Parole Board of Canada.
Around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, Toronto police were called to an address on Jones Avenue, south of Danforth Avenue, to respond after Brooks was shot.
One woman, who said she witnessed some of the events and asked to remain anonymous for her safety, told Global News she heard a couple arguing outside her window Sunday night before she heard three gunshots.
She said she looked outside and saw a man running north up Jones Avenue before she called 911. A few minutes later, the woman said she saw the man running back down Jones to where the woman was lying on the ground.
The witness said she also saw a handgun laying on the front lawn of a home next to the halfway house. When police arrived, Shea was arrested, Brooks was taken to hospital where she was pronounced dead and Shea was charged with first-degree murder.
By Tuesday, friends of Brooks huddled at the scene, lighting candles and sobbing, remembering their friend who was also the mother of a 16-year-old.
Shea himself was well-known to correctional services and police in Ontario, according to documents obtained by Global News.
The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) confirmed that Shea was out on statutory release and said it was aware that charges have now been laid against him by Toronto police.
According to Parole Board of Canada documents, Shea is “a federal recidivist who was serving a three year and one month sentence after pleading guilty to two counts of assault, break and enter with intent, and fail to comply with order – at large.”
The documents say that, in July 2020, Shea got into an argument with a woman with whom he was in a relationship. He physically assaulted the victim and threw a brick at her. The woman called police and Shea was arrested before being released on bail.
The following month, in August 2020, Shea tried to gain entry to a house where a victim was staying.
The documents show he broke into the home through a window and was “noted to be holding a handgun and a magazine.” The homeowner struck Shea with a baseball bat and the handgun was dropped.
A fight occurred and Shea pushed and choked the victim, according to the documents. He then locked himself in an empty room with the handgun.
The documents show that Shea was arrested again but this time he was not released on bail.
At the time of the first incident, Shea was bound by probation orders which included not being in possession of a weapon or being within 100 metres of the victim.
At the time of sentencing, Shea was given a Section 109 firearms and ammunition prohibition for life.
The documents show Shea had other prior convictions. They were for property and weapons-related offences, as well as many failures to comply and assault with weapons, assault, uttering threats and criminal harassment.
In March, the parole board documents show Shea was denied parole for a variety of reasons, including his criminal history and poor history of community supervision. Despite completing required and voluntary programming, Shea continued to use aggression and participate in assaults in federal custody, the board said.
When he was eventually released in early August, after completing two-thirds of his sentence, the board decided that, among other things, a residency condition to mitigate the risk to the public should be imposed.
“You have a history of unstable relationships, and you admit you do not respond well when your relationships end,” the parole board documents state.
“You have been violent in intimate partner relationships and your use of substances increases your risk of reoffending. At the current time, you require further treatment to address your substance use and your mental health, including your ability to manage your emotions.”
The parole board said that the residency condition must be in place until the expiration of Shea’s sentence or until the board determines that he no longer presents an undue risk. A Spousal Assault Risk Assessment also deemed Shea posed a moderate risk of violence towards an intimate partner and a moderate risk to others in the context of family violence.
The Correctional Service of Canada told Global News an investigation had been launched into the matter.
“Protecting the safety and security of our communities remains the top priority for the Correctional Service of Canada,” the organization said in a statement.
“To achieve this goal, CSC strives to gradually release and safely reintegrate federal offenders through structured community supervision. This includes statutory release, which is mandated by law, for offenders to serve the final third of their sentence in the community under supervision. While it is not common for such an incident to occur at a Community Residential Facility, it is a serious and tragic incident and it is important that it be thoroughly reviewed to fully examine the circumstances around what happened.”
Shea remains in custody and the charge of first-degree murder has not been tested in court.
He is next due to appear on Jan. 10.