A Crown prosecutor said June 24 in BC Supreme Court in Prince George that “there should be no real issue that the elements of homicide have been made out” in the second degree murder case against Dakota Rayn Keewatin.
Justice Ronald Tindale heard the first of two days of closing arguments scheduled in the case, which wrapped-up May 8 when 1993-born Keewatin’s lawyer, Jason LeBlond, said he would not testify. The case is under a ban on publication of information about the victim.
Prosecutor Anna Novakovic said Keewatin shot the gun in the direction of the victim as he was running down the hallway in the Connaught Hill apartment building. Three bullets hit the victim in the back, neck and torso, causing his death.
“The Crown argument here is that the only inference from these facts is that the accused intended to kill [the victim] or to cause him bodily harm, and that he was reckless about whether or not that would ensue,” Novakovic told Tindale.
As such, she said the Crown has proven beyond reasonable doubt that Keewatin shot and killed the victim. The only remaining issue is to prove that Keewatin had the intent in order to be guilty of second degree murder.
“Mr. Keewatin had control of the pistol. He went into the hallway area such that the pistol could be fired northbound, following the path of [the victim]. Mr. Keewatin started shooting northbound.”
The victim started fleeing as Keewatin fired in quick succession. “Each shot required a trigger pull. Each shot would generate a sound from the pistol.”
Novakovic conceded that, for a short period of time at the doorway of the apartment, the victim “created a situation when where Mr. Keewatin was justified in defending himself.”
But, any justification of self defence quickly disappeared when the victim was disarmed, Keewatin took possession of the pistol and the victim began running down the hallway.
“Since the shooting did not start until [the victim] was running away, the Crown argues that there is no air of reality for Mr. Keewatin to say that he shot eight times at [the victim] as an act of self defence,” Novakovic said.
Closing arguments are scheduled to continue June 25.
The trial happened almost two months after B.C. Supreme Court Justice John Gibb-Carsley acquitted Keewatin and co-accused Kerridge Andrew Lowley, 49, of aggravated assault and break-and-enter. They were charged after a grisly 2022 machete attack at a Prince George motel related to a drug debt dispute.
