A man well known to South Okanagan RCMP was acquitted of all attempted murder charges in relation to a high-speed shootout.
Michael Ellis, 41, was found guilty of a number of weapons and robbery charges related to the shootout that took place between West Kelowna and the outskirts of Vernon in 2012.
Justice Ian Josephson said that the Crown failed to prove whether or not Ellis intended to kill any of the people who were fired at during the dramatic chase.
Ellis' accomplice during the shootout, Adam Wysynski, who had already been sentenced to nine years in prison for his part in the incident, suggested to the court he was the mastermind behind the shootout and Ellis was doing what he was told.
"I reject completely the submission that Ellis was acting under duress or that I should have reasonable doubt in that regard," said Josephson.
Crown Counsel Murray Kaay asked that a Dangerous Offender assessment be conducted prior to Ellis' sentencing. The rarely attained Dangerous Offender designation results in an indeterminate prison sentence.
Ellis was connected to a large amount of charges in the South Okanagan in 2007.
During a routine check stop, RCMP found drugs and guns in a truck Ellis was in with an American man. RCMP recovered a loaded Luger semi-automatic pistol, a loaded .38 calibre revolver, a sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun wrapped in newspaper and numerous rounds of ammunition.
During that stop in 2007, RCMP also recovered 180 grams of cocaine, 21 grams of crystal meth, 42 tablets of ecstasy and drug paraphernalia.
Ellis was sentenced to 12 months for possession of a controlled substance for those charges.
Ellis was also accused of stealing a truck in August of 2007 that took him and another man on a high-speed chase from Midway to Osoyoos. Ellis was sentenced to nine months for this incident.
With files from Kathy Michaels, Kelowna Capital News