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Alberta top court rejects appeal of man who killed Calgary Stampeders football player

Sep 30, 2020 | 10:47 AM

CALGARY — Alberta’s top court has upheld the conviction of a man who killed a Calgary Stampeders football player outside a Calgary nightclub in 2016.

Three Court of Appeal justices unanimously dismissed the appeal of Nelson Lugela, who was found guilty of second-degree murder last year in the death of Mylan Hicks. 

Hicks, a 23-year-old player on the practice roster of the Canadian Football League team, was shot twice outside the Marquee Beer Market, where he and his teammates were celebrating a win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. 

Lugela argued the trial judge erred by allowing social media photographs showing he had access to a handgun and by failing to test the admissibility of witness statements identifying him as the shooter.