Fatally shot teen was in wrong place at wrong time, court told

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A Winnipeg teen killed after he was caught in the path of street gangsters bent on shooting up a North End drug house was in the wrong place at the wrong time, his grieving grandmother told a Winnipeg court Wednesday.

“We never imagined (he) would be near there,” the woman said. “Unfortunately, he got out of a cab in front of a house at the wrong time,” she said. “If he had not been there at that exact time, he would still be alive.”

The 16-year-old victim was shot dead on Oct. 5 last year, after crossing paths with three teens in the 500 block of Boyd Avenue.

A now-16-year-old accused has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the slaying. Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of three years custody and community supervision.

While the teen was unarmed and did not fire the gun that killed the victim, he would have known deadly violence was likely when he and an 18-year-old accused and 16-year-old accused set out for the rival drug house, Crown attorney Jodi Koffman told court, reading from an agreed statement of facts.

“While (the adult accused) was the only one to fire a gun in (the victim’s) direction, (the two 16-year-old boys) could have reasonably expected that in creating a dangerous circumstance by arming themselves as a group and targeting a rival drug house, they exposed anyone they should come across in proximity to the drug house to death or bodily harm,” Koffman said.

At the time of the shooting, two street gangs — one operating out of a drug house on the 500 block of Redwood Avenue, the other out of a house on the 500 block of Boyd avenue — “were involved in a dispute over the sale of drugs in the area; both groups vying for the same customers,” Koffman told court, reading from the agreed statement.

The three accused were at the Redwood drug house when shots were fired at the kitchen window.

“This was the second time in a short time span that the Redwood house had been shot at, and the assembled group believed that members of (the other gang) were responsible,” Koffman said.

The three accused left the house hours later, bound for the Boyd Avenue drug house and “intent on retaliation.”

At the same time, the victim and four female friends arrived by taxi outside the Boyd Avenue house. The victim entered the house for a short time before returning to the taxi, at which time the adult accused opened a rear door of the vehicle and greeted one of the female passengers.

After a brief discussion, the taxi drove off and the victim asked his friends who the males were.

The victim appeared to recognize the name of one of the males and “demanded that the driver turn the taxi around and drive back as the girls begged him not to,” Koffman said.

The victim exited the cab and approached the three accused as they neared the target drug house.

The adult accused, “believing (the victim) was armed with a firearm,” fired three shots, one of which “nicked” the victim’s aorta before exiting through his lung, Koffman said.

The teen was pronounced dead at hospital less than an hour later.

The teen accused in court Wednesday has no prior record, an approximate IQ of 70 and a background of family dysfunction, including a father who is serving a life sentence for murder.

“This is learned behaviour,” Koffman told provincial court Judge Lindy Choy. “This is one of the so-called role models in his life.”

The teen has been in and out of foster care as his mother struggles with drug addiction.

Koffman and defence lawyer Jesse Blackman are recommending the teen serve his three-year sentence under an Intensive Rehabilitative Custody and Supervision order. The IRCS program allows youth participants access to one-on-one counselling, occupational therapy, tutoring and other specialized services at a cost of $100,000 a year.

Koffman recommended the teen — who has been in custody since his arrest shortly after the killing — serve an additional seven months in custody, with the balance of the sentence to be served under conditional supervision in the community.

Blackman urged Choy to allow the teen to serve his entire sentence under conditional supervision, saying plans are being made for him to stay in a residential placement for teens transitioning out of foster care.

“His cognitive challenges are quite substantial,” Blackman said. “Ultimately, what we are asking the court to consider is what value is there, if any, in more custody?”

Choy will sentence the teen Oct. 28.

Prosecutors have recommended the same sentence for the other 16-year-old accused. He is still awaiting sentencing before another judge.

Devin Evans, the alleged shooter, has been charged with second-degree murder and is set to stand trial next year.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca