A tattoo on Shaylin Sutherland-Kayseas’s hand signifies a “higher up” member who has conducted a meaningful mission, said a Saskatoon police officer qualified as an expert on the Terror Squad street gang at Sutherland-Kayseas’s first-degree murder trial.
The officer was shown a photo of the tattoo on Tuesday in Court of Queen’s Bench. The 20-year-old is accused of fatally shooting 26-year-old Dylan Phillips during an alleged gang mission robbery on Oct. 14, 2016.
A photograph of Shaylin Sutherland-Kayseas’s tattoo submitted as evidence at her first-degree murder trial in Saskatoon.
The Crown is seeking to prove that Sutherland-Kayseas was a member of the Terror Squad and killed Phillips — who was not a gang member — in association with the criminal organization, thus committing first-degree murder.
The accused told police she went to rob Phillips of drugs and money and unintentionally shot him. The defence indicated it will argue for a manslaughter conviction — and the absence of a criminal organization element.
Court heard the officer with the police service’s guns and gangs unit gathers some of his information through informants.
“He’s got one job — to monitor the Terror Squad,” Justice Shawn Smith said when qualifying the officer as an expert on the gang’s structure, activities and membership.
The officer said he has specialized in the Terror Squad for almost three years. He described the gang’s hierarchy as consisting of “leaders,” “higher-ups” and low-level “soldiers.”
To move up the ranks, members must prove their loyalty through “missions” — which can range from drug deals to violent robberies and are always directed by a higher-up, the officer said.
This week, court heard recorded phone calls Sutherland-Kayseas made from jail, in which she referenced being on “city council now.” Council members are higher-ups who conduct business in different areas of the city as well as different areas of crime, including weapons, property and drugs, the officer testified.
“No flags and no gang signs,” Sutherland-Kayseas said in one of her jail calls, asking her sister to send her photos of their friends.
The officer said besides tattoos, Terror Squad members identify themselves through “flags” (black and white paisley bandanas) and clothing with the letters “TS” and the number “2019” to represent the numerical places of those letters in the alphabet.
Shaylin Sutherland-Kayseas is accused of shooting and killing Dylan Phillips during a gang mission robbery on Oct. 14, 2016.
They also use hand signals as a form of intimidation, the officer said. He was shown a photo of Sutherland-Kayseas and two others, posted on social media, and told court that a male in the photo is forming the letters “TS” with his hands.
In her calls from jail, the accused also talked about “stripping” someone. The officer said members are stripped of their flag when they are kicked out of the gang.
On cross-examination, the officer told defence lawyer Jessie Buydens that most higher-ups are longtime gang members over 18 years old. Sutherland-Kayseas was 18 when she was charged.
Younger members with family connections can move up more quickly, according to the officer. During a police interview, the accused said her uncle was a longtime member and the gang “runs in her family.”
Court heard the Terror Squad surfaced in 2006 and has approximately 200 members in and around Saskatoon, but also operates in Prince Albert and North Battleford.
The Crown closed its case on Tuesday. Buydens said the defence will call Sutherland-Kayseas’s teen co-accused when the trial resumes Wednesday.