Murder trial in Eastern Passage drive-by shooting set for 2020

The man accused of killing Jamie Lee Bishop in a drive-by shooting last June in Eastern Passage, N.S., will not go to trial for more than a year.

Rae'heem Downey, 20, is charged with second-degree murder in Bishop's death, which happened while he and a woman were walking along the side of a road.

Downey made a brief appearance in Nova Scotia Supreme Court Thursday morning to set dates for his jury trial. The earliest available dates for a four-week trial aren't until September 2020.

Downey was originally charged with first-degree murder in Bishop's death. But following a preliminary inquiry that wrapped up in provincial court in Dartmouth earlier this month, he was committed to stand trial on the lesser charge.