UPDATED at 11:42 a.m. Aug. 22 to include that state police state police k9, initially reported to have been shot by Sheridan, was in fact not struck by gunfire based on determinations from a veterinarian.

BY JIMMY LAWTON
North Country This Week

CANTON — A 19-year-old woman, who is pregnant with the child of deceased fugitive Shawn Sheridan, says she stayed with him for roughly a month living off trapped animals before he was killed by state police attempting to apprehend him on Aug. 10.

Sheridan, 34, of Canton had skipped his sentencing for charges related to shooting his then-girlfriend Katrina Pierce in the neck and was facing 12.5 years in prison.

[img_assist|nid=345286|title=Shawn Sheridan|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=200|height=255]Sheridan was allegedly armed with a shotgun when he was killed by Trooper Connor Sutton. Initially police reported that Sheridan allegedly injured a police K9 with a gunshot. However, police say a veterinarian has since determined that the dog was not struck by gunfire.

Sheridan is said to have possessed two shotguns and a rifle as well as a vest that held several edged weapons, according to police.

Chantelle Myatt was dating Sheridan at the time of his death and was present when he was killed.

She is not currently facing any charges related to the incident, but she was present at the time of Sheridan’s shooting and tells a different story than what police investigators have shared.

She spoke with the press Monday, Aug. 21 at the Law Office of Narrow and Dumas. She is being represented by Ed Narrow, who previously represented Sheridan.

During the interview, she said she does not believe Sheridan fired a weapon at officers or the police K9 that police initially reported being shot.

Differing account

Myatt described the scene leading up to Sheridan’s death differently than police reports.

She said it began with helicopters flying over the area. When the helicopter began circling the camp, she said Sheridan became nervous and began issuing her orders.

“It had gone by twice and then left. So he told me to get up and get dressed and to meet him outside the tent,” she said

“And as soon as I had stepped outside, he was on top of the hill, so I went up there to meet him. He told me to sit quietly and don't move until he said so,” she said.

“The chopper had returned and was circling for three to five minutes. I had no idea what was going on. And he said that we needed to move.”

Myatt said she then heard an officer shout.

“And right at that split moment, somebody shouted from behind ‘Hey!’ really loud and aggressively. Now in fear for my life and for my child's life I ran down the hill and I stumbled and fell. I only made it maybe 15 feet away from him. During this time I heard three distinct gunshots by the time I had hit my knees at the bottom of the hill,” she said.

Myatt said when she turned around he was already on the ground and the dog had just gotten to Sheridan. She said the scene was terrifying and has given her nightmares in the days since.

“They let the dog sit there for a few minutes on him and called it off and eventually ordered me to move forward and lay on my stomach and I was cuffed,” she said.

Myatt said she walked past Sheridan’s body, leaving her with a haunting image.

She said the troopers then sat her up on the ridge where she was allowed to sit.

“(The police) were silent mostly. They were calling to each other, but it wasn't much noise. And then they eventually walked me out of the trail and walked me to the police car.”

Myatt said she was taken into custody and held for several hours but was not charged.

She said that she asked for an attorney and remained silent until she was released.

She said investigators did not attempt to question her after she asked for representation.

The incident is under investigation by the Attorney General’s Office, as are all incidents of officer-involved shootings. Police at the scene have reported that Sheridan fired first allegedly striking a police K9, however they say police now say veterinarian examination determined the dog was not struck by gunfire.

But Myatt disputes that report.

When asked if Sheridan fired his weapon at police or the K9 officer she said. “No, I don’t believe he did.”

Although scared for her life at the time, she said she heard three distinct shots that sounded like they all came from the same weapon. She said she is familiar with firearms, having grown up around them and believed she could determine if different firearms have been shot.

Myatt added that she did not see if Sheridan raised his firearm at officers as she was not facing him.

 Not allowed to leave

Myatt said she had been living with Sheridan in a tent in the Russell woods for about a month. They had met about a year earlier when he pulled up alongside her in a camaro when she was heading to the mall. She said they hit it off quickly and she moved in with him shortly after.

Myatt said that while she was aware that Sheridan was in trouble for allegedly shooting his ex-girlfriend Katrina Pierce in the neck with a .22 caliber gun, she did not know he was a fugitive or that police were looking to bring him in for skipping his sentencing for the crime. She said Sheridan had told her his side of the story and that she believed the situation was mischaracterized.

“I do believe that there's two sides to a story when it comes to everything. And I felt that he was very wronged in the fact that everybody was only looking at one side and nobody gave the time of day to look at the other side of things,” she said.

Myatt says she originally joined Sheridan on what she believed was to be an off-the-grid style camping trip near Sheridan’s family camp on Donnerville Road in the Town of Russell.

She said that because of the legal issues and public scrutiny, Sheridan was under a lot of stress and wanted to go up into the mountains to clear his head as a way of coping with everything that was happening.

At that time, Sheridan was out on bail, but was not a fugitive as his sentencing had not yet taken place.

Although she accompanied him on the “camping trip” voluntarily, at a certain point it was clear she was not allowed to leave.

She said the two had survived off the land by trapping animals and getting water from a nearby waterfall.

She said Sheridan obtained the traps, and peanut butter used for bait, from his family’s camp which was nearby and said the last meal they had prior to Sheridan’s death consisted of opossum which she had boiled. She also described eating fowl, crawdads and jerky made from minnows.

Myatt said they did not have any visitors while staying in the woods but said Sheridan did have a phone and did appear to communicate with people.

“There were some altercations out there that made it to where it was difficult for me to just step away and that is all I'm really comfortable with saying at this time,” she said.

Myatt had no means of communicating with anyone aside from Sheridan.

Myatt said she had no ability to reach out to anyone as she did not have a phone or vehicle.

Concerned mother

Myatt’s mother Bonnie said that she became concerned about her daughter in mid-July after she hadn’t heard from her. She said they shared a phone plan so she was able to see that her phone had not been used and reached out to police for help.

She said she filed a missing persons report with the St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department.

Bonnie said that she knew her daughter was dating Sheridan and although she didn’t like it, she didn’t attempt to interfere either.

“I'm the authoritative mother. So she kept a lot from me. I met him shortly for maybe a month prior to this. He seemed and appeared to be a kind person who was only worried about her comfort and her safety,” she said.

However, Bonnie says she believed that as a 34-year-old man, he did manipulate her daughter.

Although she had met Shawn and was aware he had been in some trouble, she did not know to what extent.

As time went on, she said police told her they thought her daughter may be with Sheridan and she became terrified of what would happen when they found him.

On Aug. 10, “The fear came to a real out reality. I was horrified to learn that as the officers planned their approach, no one took into consideration that my teenager was involved and might have gone from a lovesick manipulated individual to a terrified hostage as they came over the bridge above and looked down. They only saw a girl sitting on the ground with a man crouched several feet away from her holding a shotgun,” she said.

“Someone yelled, ‘Hey!’ and she ran away from that man, stumbling down a slope behind him. Did anyone consider her safety before pulling the trigger? We all know that once a bullet leaves the chamber you can't completely control where it goes. With rock ledges all around them, was there a guarantee that a stray round would not hit her? Then you handcuffed her and walked her? Right past the mutilated face of the person she had been manipulated into loving at one point,” she said.

Bonnie said that as a nurse, she took an oath to do no harm.

“As an officer of the law, an oath is taken to protect and serve. From what I've learned so far, no effort was made to protect a misguided teenager from even a part of this terrible event.”

Bonnie’s concerned that because Sheridan was killed by police her daughter now sees him as a martyr.

“Why did they not announce themselves? Why did they not take precautions to secure her safety? And why didn't they try to take him alive? Instead of making this into this. She immortalizes him now. He's in her head, a martyr and that's going to take years to get out of her head. The terror of seeing the face destroyed that's going to take years of therapy to get her free of that, if ever.”

As for Chantelle, she said she doesn't believe Sheridan was the evil man some people think he was.

“I would just like people to know that Shawn wasn’t this demon, this mean man that was a fugitive that was out to get everybody. He was a very scared, scared soul who didn’t know where his life was going and he just wanted some control of it,” she said.

“To the people that knew him he was a good-hearted man that would do anything for anybody.”

Legal situation

Although Myatt is not facing any charges, Narrow says he was contacted by the Attorney General’s office which is investigating the incident because it was an officer-involved shooting.

Narrow said that he hasn’t had an opportunity to talk with that investigator, but has spoken a few times with St. Lawrence County District Attorney Gary Pasqua about the situation.

“It's my understanding that the state police are contemplating charges. But obviously nothing's been filed yet.”

Pasqua said he couldn’t comment due to the ongoing investigation.

“I believe the investigation will provide an accurate description of events,” he said.

North Country This Week has reached out to state police for comment related to Myatt’s description of events who said they would provide a response soon.