SASKATOON -- On the third day of Brandin Brick's murder trial, court heard how a witness who testified earlier in the week was the victim of an attack.
Brick is accused of 28-year-old James Chaisson, whose body was found on Feb. 14 2018.
As Brick's trial resumed Wednesday at Saskatoon Court of Queen's Bench, his lawyer Patrick McDougall raised the incident and called for a mistrial.
McDougall told court that Karin Roem, the mother of the accused, was attacked by four individuals and bear-sprayed in front of a business 22nd Street and Avenue W.
"To have this young man’s mother attacked is unacceptable," McDougall said.
On Monday, Roem told the court she believed her son was affiliated with the Terror Squad street gang.
"Are we going to wait for someone to die," McDougall asked in court on Wednesday.
Crown prosecutor Sandeep Bains expressed concern over the matter and said while he was sad to hear about the assault, intimidation is an "unfortunate" part of the court process.
"It’s a constant concern we have. I don’t think it’s grounds for a mistrial," Bains said.
After a brief recess to consider McDougall's request, Justice D.B. Konkin decided against a mistrial.
"Mistrials are for when something fundamentally goes wrong within a trial process," Konkin said.
Because the remaining witnesses are technical in nature, Konkin said he didn't see how the potential for intimidation might impact them.
"I think realistically we’re all part of this process and we have to rely on the expertise of the police force to investigate, protect where they can."
In an email to CTV News, Saskatoon Police Service said a 48-year-old woman reported having been bear sprayed around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday in the 2200 block of 22nd Street.
A 28-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with the alleged assault.
Paramedic, 7/11 employee testify
The Crown called paramedic Dane Onushko, who arrived on scene to assess Chaisson.
Onushko testified he found Chaisson lying on his stomach on Avenue P near 21st Street. When he lifted Chaisson's shirt he discovered a penetrating wound to Chaisson's chest.
He started chest compressions and when they tried to find a heartbeat, Chaisson died, Onushko said.
The Crown then called Jennifer Gray, who was working at the 7/11 at Avenue P and 22nd Street on the night of the incident. She said she was working from 11 p.m. Feb. 13 to 7 a.m. Feb. 14.
Under questioning by Bains, Gray testified how it was common for her to call police because of criminal activity happening in and around the convenience store.
"It's very problematic, it was the talk of Saskatoon before it closed down," Gray said.
She saw a man walk in, followed shortly by a group of three: two men and a woman. In security footage Chaisson is shown walking in, placing his backpack at the front and then walking to the back of the store.
The footage shows Brick walking towards Chaisson and interacting with him - but only shows their feet just inches apart. Gray testified she didn't remember hearing any arguing or confrontation.
"They were like regular people," she said.
She testified she saw the group leave, and through the store window she could see Chaisson and the others get into the same car.
Under cross-examination, the defence asked if Chaisson appeared to be forced into the vehicle. Gray said he appeared to get in the car willingly.
Gray said she saw the vehicle pull out of the parking lot, turn southbound on Avenue P abd then after a short distance, she saw the car stop and its lights turn off.
Spent bullet-casing recovered in vehicle
The Crown also called Sgt. Leslie Van Den Beuken, who worked in the Saskatoon Police Service's forensic identification unit. Court heard how she and another colleague combed through the suspect vehicle involved in the incident.
She testified she found a spent casing under the emergency brake between the two front seats as well as one live round tucked on the floor of in the back passenger seat of the vehicle. Fingerprints were also collected from the vehicle; however, Van Den Beuken testified they did not find any matching Brick.
The trial is set to resume on Friday.