Charges withdrawn after fatal 2024 shooting in Cambridge

Second-degree murder and attempted murder charges have been withdrawn after a fatal 2024 shooting in Cambridge. CTV’s Krista Simpson reports.

Second-degree murder and attempted murder charges against a Cambridge, Ont. man have been withdrawn in court.

The charges were related to an incident that happened at a home on Lena Crescent in Cambridge on Nov. 27, 2024.

Charles Barnes-Fountain, 37, was arrested in October 2025. At the time the Waterloo Regional Police Service said they did not anticipate further arrests.

The charges were withdrawn at a court appearance about six weeks later.

In a brief summary read by Crown Attorney Alanna Fedak-Tarnopolsky, the court heard Barnes-Fountain was with two other people at the residence when a pair of men came to the home.

A physical altercation with Barnes-Fountain followed and at some point during or after that fight, the two men were shot. One of them, a 40-year-old man from Cambridge, died at the home.

In court, the man who was killed was described as a beloved husband and father.

“The Crown has carefully reviewed all the evidence in this case and has determined there is no reasonable prospect of conviction with respect to Mr. Charles Barnes-Fountain,” Fedak-Tarnopolsky told court.

“Specifically, there is an air of reality to the defence of self-defence that cannot be disproven beyond a reasonable doubt.”

The Criminal Code charges were withdrawn at the Crown’s request.

Barnes-Fountain is subject to a 10-year peace bond that requires him to not have contact with a number of people, including the other person who was shot and family members of the deceased man, except through legal counsel.

He also must not be within 200 metres of those individuals unless required for attendance at court.

He also cannot possess any weapons.

Barnes-Fountain’s lawyer said he agreed to the peace bond and is not admitting any civil or criminal liability.

Justice Melanie Sopinka noted that failing to follow the terms of the peace bond is a criminal offense and could result in a jail sentence.

New charges in the case

On Tuesday, police announced another man had been arrested in connection to the Lena Crescent shooting.

They said a 32-year-old from North Dumfries, who was not identified, was arrested on Oct. 8, 2025 and charged with unlawfully being in a dwelling, assault with a weapon, disguise with intent and possession of a controlled substance.