The trial of a man accused in a Vancouver gangland shooting that left an innocent teenager dead has entered its final stages, with a judge instructing the jury on Friday.
Kane Carter has pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in the January 2018 attack.
The shooting left alleged gangster Kevin Whiteside and innocent 15-year-old Alfred Wong dead. Wong was struck by a bullet while travelling in the back seat of his parent’s car, while another innocent bystander was grazed by a bullet in his own vehicle.
Crown prosecutors spent two days summarizing the largely circumstantial evidence in the case this week. Carter’s defence countered that prosecutors had not proved he fired the fatal shots.
On Friday, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Wedge told jurors they must give an honest, impartial and dispassionate consideration to the evidence.
Jurors could accept the evidence in its entirety, partially, or not at all, she added.
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Wedge explained that the Crown must prove Carter intended to commit second-degree murder, but did not need to prove a motive.
She also summarized a number of admissions of fact, including that Carter has possessed firearms and engaged in drug trafficking, and has been in police custody at times.
Evidence also showed that Carter was familiar with firearms and knew how to use them, and has been arrested twice in Ontario for possessing loaded guns since January 2018.
The jury also heard that Carter can be convicted of the lesser offence of manslaughter if the Crown fails to prove its case of second-degree murder.
The case hinges on the identity of the shooter. No witness saw who pulled the trigger, and the murder weapon was never recovered.
Jurors saw about 125 exhibits of evidence, including security video shot at Broadway and Columbia Street and dash camera video that captured audio of the moment Wong was shot.
The Crown’s theory is that Carter was in the area to kill Whiteside, who was himself in the area to kill gang rival Matthew Navas-Rivas.
Surveillance video captured Whiteside running down Broadway and firing at a cab carrying his rival. Navas-Rivas and the other passenger ducked and escaped alive while Whiteside was fatally shot and died on the sidewalk.
Jurors saw security video of a burgundy van that Crown says was occupied by Carter, which drove away moments after the shooting.
The jury heard the van was later determined to be the same vehicle used by a drug trafficking operation, and which was located at Carter’s Surrey apartment. Police found gunshot residue and three damaged bullet casings in the van, along with a bloody tissue and other DNA evidence linking it to Carter.
Jurors also heard ballistic evidence showing the trajectory of bullets that hit Wong and Whiteside came from the south, where the van was parked.
Carter did not testify. His defence, however, told the jury there were too many gaps in the Crown’s evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt Carter had fired the deadly shots.
It also told jurors that just because Carter had “done other bad stuff does not mean they can rely on his previous bad character.”
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