Saskatoon youth pleads guilty to second-degree murder in death of 35-year-old man

SASKATOON -

A Saskatoon youth accused in the death of Winston Littlecrow pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in provincial court on Friday.

Littlecrow, 35, was shot in the back outside a home in the 200 block of Avenue X North on Dec. 7, 2019.

The youth accused of pulling the trigger was 17 at the time and cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Defense lawyer Chris Gratton says his client is “relieved” to have some finality when it comes to conviction.

Crown prosecutor Melodi Kujawa had sought a first-degree murder charge due to the youth’s gang involvement.

The trial heard that Littlecrow was a member of the Indian Posse gang and the accused was a member of the rival gang Terror Squad.

“He was 17-and-a-half at the time and case law says in certain cases that those types of offenders should be sentenced as an adult. There’s a number of criteria for that, the Crown hasn’t formulated its position yet because we don’t have those reports,” Kujawa told CTV News after the trial.

During the trial, Judge Sanjeev Anand requested a psychological and violence propensity report for the accused youth, so that he may be assessed on further reasons why he might have killed Littlecrow.

The youth said he suffered from depression and ADHD in the past but is only dealing with ADHD now.

Both reports will become a key issue in determining whether the youth will be sentenced as an adult, according to the judge.

The trial will resume in December once the reports have been completed to decide on a sentencing date.