Calgary police have laid a murder charge against a former member of a Regina street gang who has killed before.
Michael Douglas Keepness, 37, faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of Shakiel Ahkeem Bennett, 27, who was killed in July 2022.
Bennett was shot in what police called a “targeted attack” in the northeast community of Falconridge.
Court records show that Keepness was charged with first-degree murder but pleaded guilty to manslaugher in a 2007 attack on three teenagers, one of whom died.
Violent attack
Keepness and three others broke into a home in Regina where six people slept.
The men attacked three teenagers — aged 19, 18 and 15 — with a bat, knife and their feet in the victims’ bedrooms.
The 19-year-old died from his injuries.
Two of the other attackers pleaded guilty to manslaughter while the fourth man took responsibility for causing the fatal stab wound and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
The sentencing judge noted that the three men were self-proclaimed members of a Regina street gang at the time of the killing.
Lengthy record
According to the sentencing decision, by the time he was 22 years old, Keepness had 19 convictions on his record, including four for violence.
In 2009, Keepness was handed a seven-and-a-half year prison sentence for manslaughter and aggravated assault.
The judge also imposed a lifetime weapons prohibition.
Keepness will be back in court to face his new murder charge next week.
“Bringing closure to grieving families is something we strive to do in every case, and we know not every family gets answers,” said CPS Staff Sgt. Mark Rahn.
“Our team of dedicated investigators, spanning multiple areas across the service, worked diligently over the last two years to gather the necessary evidence that has led us to the person who is responsible, so that he can be held accountable for his actions.”