Joshua Petrin was back in Saskatoon’s Court of Queen’s Bench Monday for the second week of his first-degree murder trial.
Petrin is accused in the death of Lorry Ann Santos, a 34-year-old mother who was shot and killed inside her home in Saskatoon’s Westview neighbourhood on Sept. 12, 2012. Police said she was gunned down by members of an Alberta gang called the White Boy Posse, who hit the wrong house.
Court heard Monday morning from area residents who heard gunshots the morning of the shooting.
Cary Tarasoff, a former military officer who said he is familiar with firearms, told court he was sleeping in his camper van in front of his house near the Santos residence when he heard a series of three shots, followed by a pause, and then four more shots. He said the shots happened in quick succession, within five seconds.
The shots sounded like they were right beside him, but he looked out the window and couldn’t see anything happening, he said. He immediately ran inside the house and called 911.
Under cross examination, he confirmed with a defence lawyer that he initially told police he saw black men parking near a mailbox and that he thought their activity was suspicious. Court heard the vehicle in this report did not match the description of the suspect vehicle.
Area resident Judy Burlingame also testified that she heard a loud noise — a "pop, pop," she said —sometime between 5 and 6 that morning. She said she suspected children might be setting off firecrackers in the alley. She looked out her bedroom window and saw two men dressed in black running down the alley, "like they had the wind beneath them, running for their lives I suppose," she said.
Court also heard from area resident Marjorie Kowalchuk, who was driving to work the morning of Sept. 12, 2012, when she said she saw a grey car driving slowly along Peterson Crescent. She said she noticed the front windows were tinted, and, believing that it was illegal, she followed the car and saw that it had an Alberta licence plate.
Shawla Polson, who also lives nearby, testified as well. She told court she heard a series of gunshots, and then saw a car with tinted front windows turn its headlights on and drive away at an average speed.
Both Kowalchuk and Polson testified that the vehicle they saw was clean. The owner of the alleged murder vehicle, Karissa Dow, Petrin’s former girlfriend, testified last week the vehicle was dusty before they left Saskatoon for Lloydminster.
Kowalchuk and Polson also stated they had not seen the vehicle in question in the neighbourhood previously.
Week one of Petrin’s trial saw testimony from several Crown witnesses, including Santos’ widower, Petrin’s ex-girlfriend and a man who said he acquired the guns and ammunition used in the shooting.
Three witnesses told court Petrin ordered the hit that led to Santos’ death. A man who allegedly left the White Boy Posse was the intended target, according to the witnesses.
Petrin was one of three men arrested after Santos’ death. The other two were found guilty in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Both were sentenced to life in prison — though one has since appealed his conviction.
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