Leeming Hears How Accused Killer Led Undercover Agents to Calgary Mother and Daughter’s Bodies | The Canadian News

An undercover Calgary police officer testified about how a sting operation helped find the bodies of the victims in Robert Leeming’s trial Thursday.

Leeming, a 36-year-old UK citizen, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Calgary’s mother, Jasmine Lovett, 25, but not guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Lovett’s daughter. , 22 months. Aliyah Sanderson, in 2019.

Leeming arrived at court in a gray sweatshirt, his bushy beard peeking out of the blue mask and his eyes lowered.

The undercover officer, who cannot be identified due to a posting ban, detailed Operation Highwood, the 4.5-hour sting operation in which Leeming led two undercover officers to the bodies of Lovett and Sanderson.

The court listened to hours of audio from the operation and heard that Leeming was first contacted by officers on May 5, 2019, around 7 p.m. near Sobeys Liquor at Cranberry Road and Cranston Avenue SE.

The premise of the sting was that a nosy neighbor found an evidence bag, and undercover agents offered to help Leeming deal with it. Officers told Leeming that they recognized him from his interviews with reporters and thought the evidence might be important to him.

As Leeming waited to cross the street, the officer and his partner approached Leeming and began talking to him.

Leeming looked sober and alert, the officer said.

“He was very involved in our conversation and provided intelligent responses,” the undercover officer told the court.

The three visited a variety of locations in Calgary and west of the city.

The officer said on the tapes: “You are the guy from the news. You’re like a fucking rock star. “

Leeming responds, “Hardly … There’s nothing rock star in my damn life right now, I’ll tell you.”

They invited Leeming to sit on a bench outside a coffee shop and talk. Leeming asked if they were police officers, which they denied.

“I’ve had my life turned upside down,” Leeming said.

Officers offered to take Leeming for a ride in their truck, and he agreed to go for a beer.

To build trust, officers shared stories that portrayed the police in a negative light and tips on how to stay under the radar.

Leeming was “relaxed” and “jovial,” the officer told the court.

“We shared stories back and forth, and we laughed a little,” he said.

They left the pub and took the truck to a “covered location”, a warehouse, and arrived there about an hour and 15 minutes after the meeting.

They tried to reach an agreement and “figure out how to gain trust,” the officer told the court.

Leeming gave one of the officers a handmade knife as a gift, something of value to him.

Officers showed Leeming their arsenal of weapons to build confidence, although they noted that the weapons were not working. He told the court that they were not trying to intimidate Leeming, but were trying to show him his criminal record.

It’s a “dirt on dirt mentality,” the officer told the court.

Leeming said, “I don’t know how it works here in this country or … if I ask you if you are a police officer, you have to tell me, right?”

“Yes,” an officer replied, although that is not a law in Canada.

Leeming explained to officers that he put bacon in his basement as a distraction.

“The pig is the closest thing to people in the way dogs react,” he said, “and that’s why they’re pissed off.”

“Not to mislead them, they just (indiscernible) said we were going to come in with corpse dogs, so I thought, ‘Well that’s interesting.’

They made a deal, shook hands, and agreed that they would share information with each other.

Leeming said, “They are looking very, very far from where they should be.”

The trio looked at a map on a phone.

“What are we looking for? They?” asked an officer.

Leeming nodded.

“You will never have to worry about that again,” the officer said.

Leeming shook hands with both of them and they agreed to drive to where the bodies are.

When asked why he chose that specific location in Kananaskis, Leeming said, “I have never been there before. That’s why.”

The trial continues on Friday morning.