Homicide charges were stayed against a Winnipeg drug dealer who killed a man he thought was about to rob him at gunpoint in a West End drug house — but a Manitoba court gave him a 4 1/2-year sentence for illegally possessing the sawed-off shotgun he used to shoot his would-be assailant in the neck.
Winnipeg Police Service homicide detectives flew to Toronto to arrest Neigel Ryan Noel, 55, on June 2, 2022, where he had fled after investigators identified him as their suspect in the killing of 39-year-old Scott Matthew Catcheway in a two-storey triplex on Young Street between Ellice and Sargent avenues a month earlier.
WPS Neigel Ryan NOEL, 53 years old
Police found Catcheway dead outside the Young Street residence, after officers were called to the scene about a disturbance and assault at about 9 p.m. on May 4, 2022.
But the day before Noel was put in cuffs in Ontario, Crown prosecutors in Manitoba entered a stay of proceedings on the second-degree murder charge, court records show.
The stay was entered out of court, so the exact reasoning behind the prosecution’s decision is unclear, though details included in his sentencing for the gun charges suggest a self-defence argument could have been raised if the matter went to trial.
The WPS released few details of what occurred at the time, saying only that Noel shot Catcheway in a dispute at the house.
Provincial court Judge Darcie Yale, who sentenced Noel after his guilty pleas earlier this year to possession of a restricted or prohibited firearm and two counts of possessing a weapon contrary to court orders, revealed the circumstances of the slaying in an Aug. 1 written sentencing decision.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Winnipeg Police officers at a house on Young Street Thursday afternoon where they found a deceased adult male nearby Wednesday evening.
Yale wrote that Winnipeg police found the sawed-off shotgun in the basement of Noel’s girlfriend’s mother’s house, after determining Noel had it in his possession on the day of the killing.
“Why WPS were searching for the gun is relevant. A person… who said he wanted to buy drugs from Mr. Noel was shot and killed. Mr. Noel was a suspect in the death. After his arrest, Mr. Noel gave a statement to police admitting his involvement in the shooting,” wrote Yale.
Noel, who was released on bail for unrelated matters 15 days before the shooting, was required to live at his Young Street suite by a court order that also barred him from possessing any weapons, on top of a 10-year weapons ban stemming from a prior conviction.
He was sitting in his bedroom, selling fentanyl, when Catcheway and his girlfriend showed up on the pretense of wanting to buy an ounce of the powerful opioid.
Noel told Catcheway he did not have the amount of fentanyl he wanted, but would sell him what he had, the judge wrote. Catcheway was armed with two guns concealed under his jacket.
Noel had been warned by others that Catcheway had been robbing people in the drug world and when he began to “act erratically,” Noel grew concerned he was about to be robbed, wrote Yale.
“When the deceased started to reach behind his back, Mr. Noel pulled out the gun which he had been storing loaded with ammunition beside him in his bed. He did so to deter the deceased from escalating further,” wrote Yale.
“Mr. Noel and the deceased pointed their guns at each other. Fearful for his life, Mr. Noel pulled the trigger of the gun. He shot the deceased in the neck, killing him.”
Noel, who turned to living the life of a hustler as a teen amid a difficult childhood and has long struggled with drugs, is no stranger to the criminal justice system. Yale called his record “unenviable.”
Noel estimated he has spent 20 of his 55 years behind bars in provincial and federal facilities.
“His adulthood evidences a life spent struggling with addictions, violence, instability in housing and employment, and complex loss,” wrote Yale, noting Noel was dealing fentanyl, in part, to support his own addiction.
But Yale said he has made progress in trying to recover from the drugs since his incarceration, though he has struggled with his mental health.
“Mr. Noel recognizes that but for his offending behaviour, (having the gun with which he defended himself), he would be dead,” said Yale.
“The profound impact of this realization, coupled with overwhelming stress associated with being charged with murder in the death of the deceased… have hit home and have given him incentive to change his life.”
Noel immigrated to Canada from Grenada with his family when he was around four or five. His parents, who worked long hours, were largely absent. His father beat him with a belt, the judge wrote, leading him to leave the family home at 14, struggling while living with another teen.
His parents later decided to move back to Grenada, where he did not adjust as a teen, so he moved back to Winnipeg with his brother to live with their godfather, who kicked Noel out when he dropped out of school.
That is when he began to drink and use drugs, getting in trouble and becoming transient, leading to a life of criminal behaviour and addictions, Yale wrote.
Noel, who has been in custody since his June 2022 arrest, has just over 2 1/2 years left to serve of his sentence. He will be banned from owning weapons of any kind for life.
erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca
Erik Pindera
Reporter
Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik.
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