Planning of armed robbery evidence of guilt in Regina manslaughter trial: Crown

Crown prosecutor Mitchell Miller told the jury at a Regina manslaughter trial they should find the accused guilty as charged, even though he wasn't holding the weapon, because robberies are inherently dangerous.

On Monday, closing arguments were presented in Regina's Court of Queen's Bench at the trial of Elwin Michael Goodpipe.

Goodpipe has pleaded not guilty in connection with the shooting death of 56-year-old Andre Joseph Aubertin. Court heard the man was killed by single a shotgun blast to the trunk of his body on March 29, 2016. 

Miller told the jury Goodpipe should be found guilty, alleging that Goodpipe and Jerid Cole Azure planned to rob Aubertin of his money and marijuana. 

Earlier in the trial, the Crown and defence entered an agreed statement of facts to the court. It included details of the manslaughter charge against Azure and noted he plead guilty and was sentenced in January 2017. 

A witness who testified earlier in the trial said she overheard the two men discuss robbing a "French man," who was a "nobody" and an "easy target." 

Accused should have known the risks: Crown

Court heard the two men walked over to Aubertin's home. Goodpipe had allegedly been there before to visit and asked to use the phone. 

Aubertin's common-law partner Candace Itittakoose told the jury that the men came into the living room and she gave Goodpipe the phone.

According to Itittakoose, Azure said "what you got?" She said the gun went off before Aubertin could raise his hands. 

Miller told the jury Goodpipe should have known Aubertin would be put at significant risk during a drug robbery. 

He cited four Saskatchewan Court of Appeal cases that described the nature of robbery and said the message remains the same among all: "robbery is an inherent danger to human life." 

"Robberies are unstable events. Tensions are high. People are nervous and things can go wrong in many instances," Miller said. 

Witness testimony 'unsatisfactory,' defence says

Defence lawyer Merv Shaw asked the jury to find his client not guilty.

He cited problems with the evidence, and said Itittakoose's identification of his client after Goodpipe was in brought into custody was "unsatisfactory." 

Shaw encouraged the jury to consider uncertainties and pauses of the witnesses and give those aspects as much weight as they do spoken testimony.

He said the men did not wear masks and did not use force to enter the home. Furthermore, he suggested Goodpipe didn't know Azure was armed. 

"It's not enough to simply be there," Shaw said, adding there has to be "something more." 

"I suggest there isn't." 

The fact that the two men ran away after the shot was fired "suggests an absolute surprise," Shaw said, suggesting the inclination to flee would not be an uncommon reaction. 

Justice Jeff Kalmakoff is expected to deliver his instructions to the jury on Tuesday morning. Afterward, the jury will enter its deliberations and decide the fate of Goodpipe.