Skip to content

Man sentenced for Onion Lake shootout with police

An individual charged in a police shooting incident in Onion Lake was sentenced to a lengthy prison term Wednesday in Battleford. Rocky Ochuschayoo was sentenced in Queen’s Bench court to six years for the two counts against him.
court house pic

An individual charged in a police shooting incident in Onion Lake was sentenced to a lengthy prison term Wednesday in Battleford.

Rocky Ochuschayoo was sentenced in Queen’s Bench court to six years for the two counts against him.

One was a count of discharge of a firearm with intent to wound, stemming from July 29, 2017, at Onion Lake.

According to reports at the time, a shot was fired at RCMP members as they were trying to pull over a pickup truck on the First Nation. The vehicle then tried to get away. A second gunshot was then fired and a member of the RCMP returned fire in the incident.

Justice Gerald Allbright sentenced Ochuschayoo to five and a half years for the discharge of a firearm count, and six months consecutive for a second count of escape from Onion Lake court several months later.

That brought the overall sentence to six years, but Ochuschayoo is credited with two and a half years for remand. That means his jail sentence has another three and a half years to run.

Oschuschayoo had previously entered guilty pleas to the two counts. In imposing sentence Allbright noted Ochuschayoo had acknowledged his guilt and faced up to it.

Gladue factors also applied in the sentencing. Justice Allbright said the pre-sentence report pointed to difficult circumstances for Ochuschayoo growing up. He was described as disadvantaged in a “systemic” way, and impacted by alcohol and crystal meth addictions.

Allbright also encouraged Oschuschayoo to turn away from the gang lifestyle, which was another factor noted.  

A 15-year firearms prohibition was also imposed by the judge. There was no forfeiture order or DNA order imposed. A stay has been entered on Ochuschayoo’s other counts.