Saskatoon first-degree murder trial hears how gang tensions may have led to 35-year-old man's death

Saskatoon Provincial Court is pictured in this file photo. (Chad Hills/CTV Saskatoon)

Saskatoon -

Crown prosecutors called their first three police witnesses in the first-degree murder trial of a man charged in the death of 35-year-old Winston Littlecrow.

The youth, who was 17 at the time of the alleged slaying cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. He’s facing a first-degree murder charge in the death of Littlecrow, who was found shot outside a residence in the 200 block of Avenue X North.

Crown prosecutor Melodi Kujawa outlined her case before Judge Sanjeev Anand saying the Crown’s case will show this was a gang-motivated death. Littlecrow was a member of Indian Posse, the accused, a member of the rival gang Terror Squad.

Constable Robert Stanviloff was the first witness to take the stand at provincial court on Monday. He told the court he was the first officer who responded to a call about an injured man at around 7:22 a.m., on Avenue X North on Dec. 7, 2019.

Const. Stanviloff testified when he arrived on scene he found a man later identified as Littlecrow laying on his back outside the house. With snow covering the ground where the victim laid, beside him was a woman in the fetal position, sobbing and crying in what the officer described as a state of shock, Stanviloff said.

The officer testified he found a small bullet hole in Littlecrow’s back. And when Littlecrow started to lose consciousness, Stanviloff performed CPR until paramedics arrived. Littlecrow would later die in hospital.

SURVEILLANCE VIDEO TIMELINE

Sgt. Anthony Boensch with the Saskatoon Police Service’s major crimes unit took the court through a series of surveillance videos captured in the moments leading up to Littlecrow’s death. Video shows a man in a black hooded sweatshirt and light-coloured pants and black boots, leaving an apartment building in the 200 block of Avenue V South.

Another surveillance camera recording shows the same person entering a McDonald’s at 22nd Street and Avenue W. The man in the video sits at a table for a few minutes and then exits. Cameras recordings follow the person behind the No Frills around the intersections of Avenue X North and 23rd Street.

The same person is observed crossing 23rd Street towards a home in the 200 block of Avenue X North. Sgt. Boensch testified the video shows people in the middle of the street, then there’s a muzzle flash, and then the person in a dark sweatshirt and light pants is spotted running from the scene, back across 22nd Street, past the McDonald’s drive-thru and back into the apartment located at Avenue V South.

POLICE INTERVIEW

The Crown’s third witness was officer Henry Ly, also with the major crimes unit. He testified he interviewed the accused on Dec. 12, 2019 after he was arrested in connection to Littlecrow's death.

In an interview video, the accused tells the officer he has depression and ADHD and is taking medication for his medical conditions but hadn’t taken them in a while.

The accused is heard saying when he doesn’t take medication for his depression, he starts to hear voices, he blacks out and doesn’t remember things. Under cross examination defence lawyer Chris Gratton asked Ly what the differences Ly noticed from the time the police interview occurred on Dec. 12, 2019 to today.

Ly told the court he noted the accused had more face tattoos and his hair was cut short, where before it was long. Ly identified the man in the prisoner’s box as the accused.

CO-ACCUSED PLEADED GUILTY

Earlier this year, a 22-year-old co-accused Eiryn Ashlee Straightnose, who was originally charged with first-degree murder in the death of Littlecrow, pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

During her sentencing at Saskatoon’s Court of Queen’s Bench, court heard Straightnose was a member of the Terror Squad and Littlecrow was a member of a rival gang Indian Posse.

Court heard Straightnose and Littlecrow ended up at a mutual friend’s home the night of Littlecrow’s death. Court heard how months before the night of Dec. 7, 2019 Straightnose was assaulted with a machete by an Indian Posse member.

When Straightnose saw a member of the Indian Posse street gang in the home she angrily sent a text message, according to evidence read in court.

“She sent a text to somebody she knew had a gun, who was close by, and wanted him to come over and get this person out of the home — that’s in fact what happened,” Crown prosecutor Melodi Kujawa told reporters at the time of the sentencing.

Straightnose pleaded guilty to the lesser sentence of manslaughter and was handed a nine year sentence, under a joint submission by the Crown and defence.

Near the end of her sentencing, when the accused is given the opportunity to speak, Straightnose thanked the judge for sentencing her.

The 22-year-old said she’s looking forward to leaving her gang life behind her and will focus on being a supportive mother to her three kids when she’s released.