On Tuesday, a truck driver was sentenced to prison for a 2018 truck stop shooting involving multiple prostitutes and the theft of a large amount of cash.
Sixty-three year old truck driver Randall Neill McCargar was sentenced to seven years after he was convicted on two counts of discharging a firearm with intent to wound or endanger life and one count of possessing a firearm without a license.
McCargar, who represented himself, pled not guilty to those charges.
The charges stem from an incident that began early on July 11 at the Petro-Canada truck stop in Brandon, Manitoba, when McCargar allegedly hired four prostitutes to “party” with him in his truck.
McCargar later told police that he had around $40,000 in cash in his truck at the time because he disliked using banks. During the Thursday night party session, he handed out hundred dollar bills to the prostitutes.
The next day, McCargar says that a woman he had previously met at a bar who was accompanied by an unknown male later identified as Jared Sikala, 40, showed up at his truck that was still parked in the truck stop parking lot. He says that the couple forced their way into him truck and beat him, and then took his wallet, which he says contained $13,000.
McCargar said that he was able to force the pair out of his truck. He said that the pair fled in a red pickup truck.
Police later confirmed that McCargar face was bruised.
Police say that after McCargar pushed the couple out of the pickup, he opened fire on the pickup, striking Sikala and a 16 year old female. Authorities later seized a shotgun from McCargar’s semi and found three shotgun shell casings in the truck stop parking lot.
The teen shooting victim provided a different version of story when she testified in court.
She said that she was riding inside the pickup to get alcohol with a group of family friends when they drove to the truck stop and parked in the rear lot.
The shooting victim said that she stayed in the pickup truck while the three other female passengers and Sikala entered McCargar’s truck. She said that after a few minutes, two of the women returned to the pickup looking scared and that the third woman later fell out of the truck while trying to carry something. She said she saw Sikala and McCargar fighting and that Sikala got back in the pickup and said to “just drive” moments before the shooting.
The teen victim was shot in the face and spent nearly two weeks in the hospital. Sikala suffered non life-threatening injuries.
While defending himself in court, McCargar told police that he didn’t shoot anyone and that he was set up. He also testified that he was not the actual driver of the truck but had been working as a helper to the driver.
Throughout the trial, McCargar maintained his innocence. “They’re both lying, I told you that. They’re lying — they weren’t even there. They’re the real bandits. I proved that already,” he proclaimed during the trial according to reporting from the Brandon Sun.
McCargar has the option to appeal the prison sentence.