WHITECOURT — Found in possession of pharmaceutical drugs not prescribed to him, a man connected to a notorious police shooting is once again behind bars.

Dennis Cheeseman, sentenced to a 10-year term for his role in the 2005 killings of four RCMP members in Mayerthorpe, was on early release when police arrested him in front of a Whitecourt bank on Friday for possession of a controlled substance.

Sources tell the Sun Cheeseman was found in possession of prescription medicine not in his name, contrary to his release conditions which prohibit possession or consumption of non-prescribed drugs or alcohol.

Police were called to the Whitecourt ATB branch just before 2:30 p.m. after a caller reported a suspicious male seated in a parked car outside the bank.

According to RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Steve Vince, a routine check on the car indicated who owned it.

“Whitecourt members ran the plate, and found that the vehicle was registered to Dennis Cheeseman,” Vince said.

Vince added the Parole Board of Canada would be informed of the breach and any changes to Cheeseman’s release conditions would be decided by them.

Cheeseman, along with his brother-in-law Shawn Hennessey, were convicted of manslaughter in 2009 for supplying weapons to the man responsible for gunning down four RCMP members on a Mayerthorpe farm.

Cheeseman was released last November after serving two-thirds of his sentence.

Hennessey was granted limited freedom this year, permitted as many as three days of unescorted leave per month at his family’s home in Barrhead, northwest of Edmonton.

Interviewed earlier this summer by QMI Agency, retired Mayerthorpe RCMP detachment commander Kim Connell said he disagrees with automatically releasing prisoners after serving two-thirds of their sentence.

“With mandatory release, they get time off no matter what they do in prison,” said Connell, who at the time of the shooting served as Mayerthorpe’s deputy mayor.

He added early release should only be used to reward prisoners who exhibit good behaviour while incarcerated.

Nevertheless, Connell suggested at the time Hennessey and Cheeseman are not the types who spend their lives in the revolving doors of Canadian justice.

“They’re not career criminals; they’ve just done some stupid things. They’ve kind of paid their dues, now it’s up to them to decide if they can live reasonable lives.”

Cheeseman remains in custody and is to appear in court on Tuesday.

— With files from Kevin Hampson​

bryan.passifiume@sunmedia.ca

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