Suspects in Tylor McInnis death agree to 5-day preliminary inquiry

There was an angry confrontation outside the courthouse in Dartmouth, N.S., Wednesday morning as three men accused of murder made a brief appearance.

Shawntex Neco Downey, 24, Daniel Romeo Downey, 18, and Nicco Alexander Smith, 25, are each charged with first-degree murder in the death of Tylor Donovan McInnis, 26.

The courtroom was packed with people for Wednesday morning's brief appearance, with members of the McInnis family taking up almost a whole side of the courtroom.

Outside Dartmouth provincial court, tempers flared between the McInnises and the other families. Police and sheriff's deputies came pouring out of the courthouse. They were quickly joined by patrol cars with reinforcements. They all formed a human barrier until supporters of the three accused got in their vehicles and left.

McInnis's body was found in the trunk of a stolen car in a cemetery in North Preston in August.

The three men accused of murder have agreed to a five-day preliminary inquiry beginning in June.

A fourth man, 34-year-old Judson Lemar Falls, was charged with unlawful confinement and being an accessory to murder after the fact. In court Wednesday morning, the accessory charge against Falls was withdrawn. He's due back in court later this month.

All four accused are also charged with kidnapping, unlawful confinement and attempted murder in connection to an alleged attack on a second man, Liam Thompson.

Both Thompson and McInnis are believed to have been attacked in North Preston.