An Alberta man was convicted of first-degree murder in the shooting death of an RCMP officer Thursday morning.
A jury in Yellowknife failed to reach a verdict Wednesday but then just two hours after resuming their deliberations Thursday morning, they reached a decision.
Emrah Bulatci, a 25-year-old former resident of St. Albert, was found guilty of killing RCMP Constable Chris Worden in Hay River, Northwest Territories in October 2007. The officer was shot by Bulatci after the officer tried to arrest the man who was caught trying to sell cocaine.
"The convicted criminal shot our Christopher four times with only one intent: to kill," said Const. Worden's father, John Worden.
Bulatci testified he fired twice at the officer's legs during a foot chase, and said the two fatal shots were not fired intentionally as the two scuffled on the ground.
Prosecutor John Cliffe said during the trial that Bulatci intended to kill the officer because he continued to keep enough pressure on the trigger for the gun to go off not once, but twice.
Bulatchi was able to escape arrest for several days after the shooting setting off a manhunt that ended close to a week after the incident occurred at a housing complex in Edmonton.
And two years later, neighbours in the area still have not forgotten the intense takedown.
"I'm glad they caught him. I'm glad that somebody like that is off the street and I think it's a good thing," said Edmonton resident Haylee Bush.
Bulatci tried to plead guilty to manslaughter at the beginning of his trial, but the Crown rejected that. Crown prosecutors said a plea bargain was never considered for the lesser charge because they felt they had a very strong case.
A first-degree murder conviction means Bulatci will spend at least 25 years of his life behind bars.
With files from the Canadian Press, CTV's Scott Roberts and Elizabeth McMillan - Northern News Services
