Noel Harder, Forseti key witness, testifies again in Isho Hana murder trial

Noel Harder, a key figure in Project Forseti back in January, took the stand again today in the Isho Hana murder trial.

Harder spent most of his time on the stand today clarifying his statements from yesterday.

Defence attorneys expressed concerns about Harder's testimony. They said it amounted to hearsay, because he reported what one of the accused had said to another.

He is back in court Wednesday for cross-examination.

Hana was shot and killed on Saskatoon's Preston Avenue in 2004. Three men are on trial for first-degree murder including 34-year-old Kennith Tingle, 33-year-old Jonathan Dombowsky and 37-year-old Long Naam Luu. A fourth man, Neil Yakimchuk, has already been found guilty.

At the time of Hana's death, Harder was a local drug dealer. He said he regularly dealt with two of the accused through this work.

​In March of 2004, Harder was arrested after selling drugs to an undercover police officer. Shortly before that arrest, he told the undercover officer about a lunch meeting he had with Dombowsky and several other drug dealers in the neighbourhood.

During the meeting, the men talked about problems they had been having with Hana, who had become increasingly aggressive with competing drug dealers. Harder said Hana handled them with violence if they didn't agree to work with him.

That made him a target, Harder recalled.

He said he heard one of the accused telling another that they had put up $25,000 to "deal with Isho".

Over the years, Harder started to work closer and closer with police, starting out as a confidential informant. Eventually Harder became involved with the witness protection program with Project Forseti, a major drug and guns investigation targeting biker gangs in January.

Harder finally agreed to testify in the Hana trial in January. He said he received no payment and no incentives for doing so.