A man who was in a white Chrysler 300 with two men accused of shooting a car that was waiting at a traffic light says the shooting resulted from an altercation between gang members in a Saskatoon parking lot.
The 18-year-old witness can’t be named because he was sentenced as a youth in connection with the incident. He was subpoenaed to testify Monday at the trial of William Roderick Gunn and William Joseph Paul, but failed to show up. The youth was arrested later that day and held in custody until Tuesday, when he took the stand at Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench.
Gunn and Paul face numerous weapons charges in connection with the shooting near Fairlight Drive and 22nd Street on March. 21, 2015.
The youth and another passenger, Kendrea McDonnell, testified that Gunn was driving while Paul shot a car they had followed out of a Fairhaven neighbourhood parking lot. Gunn handed the sawed-off shotgun to Paul and led police on a chase after the shooting, McDonnell testified Monday.
Court heard the youth and Gunn were affiliated with the Saskatchewan Warriors street gang. The youth said he and Paul crossed paths with a Terror Squad member who was armed with a knife. Paul grabbed a gun from the car and pulled the pump back, but there was no shot in the gun, the youth testified.
The man ran away, but the youth said Gunn believed another Terror Squad member got into the car that the group eventually chased down. He said Paul fired a shot from the back driver’s side seat while they were stopped beside the car. Evidence shows the shot hit the car’s rear passenger door but did not get into the vehicle.
The trial heard a recorded conversation in which Gunn denied being the driver and told the youth to say he was driving. The youth testified he did not give a statement with that information and said the alibi Gunn referred to on the phone calls from jail was false.
On Tuesday, officers identified Gunn as being in the driver’s seat of the Chrysler when it crashed following the police pursuit. An officer who seized his clothing said he was wearing a blue T-shirt, black hoodie and navy blue bandana upon his arrest.
Cross-examination of the youth is expected to take place when the trial continues Wednesday.
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