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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Fatal shootings spontaneous, witness says

By: Mike McIntyre

Posted: 09/25/2012 1:00 AM

A deadly double shooting inside a Winnipeg house party was a shock to many -- including one of the men who stormed inside the residence with revenge on his mind.

Cody Delorme took the stand Monday as a key Crown witness against two alleged young offenders who have pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and a single charge of attempted murder. Their names can't be published because they were 16 and 17 at the time of the December 2009 ambush in Elmwood.

Tyler Hawula and Matthew Reynolds, both 18, were fatally injured. A third victim, Kyle St. Germaine, suffered serious injuries.

Delorme previously pleaded guilty to reduced charges of manslaughter and was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

"It went to hell in a second," Delorme told Queen's Bench Justice Perry Schulman Monday. "There wasn't much I could do."

Delorme insisted the deadly attacks were spontaneous. He went with the two accused and another teen to the home, believing they were going to possibly beat up someone, or maybe steal their alcohol and drugs, to "get even" for an earlier slight. He claims there was never a discussion about shooting the place up, even though one of the accused had grabbed a firearm before they got into a cab to go to the Martin Avenue residence.

"It was like OK, we're going to go there. But what are we going to do when we get there?" Delorme testified. "(The two accused) felt they'd been wronged. But it wasn't really much of any plan or thought process."

The incident began after Hawula and a small group of friends planned to host a party at his home on Martin Avenue West and advertised the event using Facebook. It was a "black light" theme, in which guests were encouraged to wear white and be illuminated.

But the invitation spread through the social-networking website, resulting in several unknown people showing up. That included the two accused and several of their gang-connected friends. Later on, Hawula, Reynolds and another man kicked the 17-year-old out because he was getting into arguments with other guests and frightening people by flashing weapons, court was told.

The youth left -- his friends, including the 16-year-old, had previously departed -- and that's when, the Crown alleged, a plot was hatched to return to the home and seek revenge. As he left, the 17-year-old told guests, "I can have this house shot up with one phone call," and "I'll blow this place to (expletive)," several witness have previously testified.

The two defendants are accused of doing exactly that. They allegedly armed themselves with a stolen shotgun and stormed into the party, where the younger teen shot Hawula in the abdomen and Reynolds in the chest.

St. Germaine was shot seconds later, and the gun was pointed at a fourth man but the assailants had run out of ammunition, court heard.

www.mikeoncrime.com

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 25, 2012 A4