Murder trial a matter of degrees

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/04/2011 (5316 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Colton Patchinose doesn’t deny his role in a mass shooting at a Winnipeg birthday party that left three people dead and another three seriously injured.

Now the only question for a jury to answer is whether the March 2008 ambush was a premeditated attack or something more spontaneous?

Patchinose, 21, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder. His trial ended Friday after five days of evidence. Lawyers will make their closing arguments next Tuesday before putting the high-profile case in the hands of the jury.

Defence counsel Mike Cook and Pam Smith plan to argue that Patchinose should be convicted of lesser charges because the evidence doesn’t show the type of cold-blooded calculation and planning needed to prove the most serious charge in the Criminal Code.

The Crown has a different view, suggesting Patchinose knew exactly what he was doing when he burst into the Alexander Street home.

Much of the their case is built on the evidence of another man who was originally arrested, only to have his charges dropped. Howard Roulette, 28, has close ties with the accused and testified this week about the events leading up to, and following, the shooting spree.

Scott Lavallee, 31, Jennifer Ward, 26, and Corey Keeper, 22, died after being struck at close range by at least eight of the 19 bullets fired that night. Nearly 30 people had gathered at the Weston-area home for a party, including Roulette and Patchinose. The two men had met each other weeks earlier because their girlfriends were roommates, jurors were told.

Patchinose allegedly told Roulette he wanted to leave the party. Roulette was driving his car that night and claims he took Patchinose to a house on Pritchard Avenue, where he was told to wait outside. Patchinose emerged a few minutes later with a youth co-accused and allegedly told Roulette he wanted to return to the home on Alexander. On the way there, Patchinose and the youth allegedly produced guns, with Patchinose allegedly saying he wanted to go back inside and “shoot the place up.”

Roulette claims he balked at their plans and said he didn’t want to be involved. Patchinose allegedly threatened to shoot him if he didn’t comply.

Police broke the case open after learning Roulette had been at the party earlier in the night, information that came through his cousin, who was also present. He was interviewed and initially claimed to have no knowledge about what happened. But he quickly broke down and told police a much different story, the Crown said.

Roulette’s credibility will be a key issue for jurors to consider, as defence lawyers are trying to paint him as a liar with a personal agenda.

Jurors were told earlier this week the youth accused has already had his own separate trial, but no further information was given.

www.mikeoncrime.com