Regina man convicted in three murders to receive new trial on two

Saskatchewan’s highest court has granted Dillon Whitehawk an appeal and a new trial has been ordered for the 2019 deaths of Jordan Denton and Keenan Toto.

In a decision released Wednesday, Justices Kalmakoff, Barrington-Foote and Drennan ordered Whitehawk’s convictions be set aside and that a new trial would be required.

Whitehawk was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for his role in the drive-by shootings that killed both Denton and Toto. The killings took place in Regina’s North Central neighbourhood around three weeks apart in late 2019.

It was alleged that Whitehawk was a member of Indian Mafia at the time of the killings. Witnesses at trial identified Whitehawk as the shooter in both instances and testified that he shot both victims because he believed they were members of a rival street gang, the Native Syndicate Killers (NSK).

Whitehawk had appealed his conviction on the grounds that he was not able to challenge prospective jurors for bias against members of street gangs.

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Additionally, Whitehawk objected to a Crown witness giving expert opinion evidence on how Regina street gangs operate – arguing that the Regina Police Service (RPS) member was not impartial or independent.

Lastly, Whitehawk argued that the trial judge erred by failing to inquire about whether a juror’s impartiality may have been compromised.

The three justices found that Whitehawk’s first ground for appeal was enough for the verdict to be overturned and a new trial required.

“In my respectful view, the trial judge committed errors in principle in the Challenge for Cause Ruling. By that, I mean he applied an incorrect legal test, both when determining whether Mr. Whitehawk had identified the existence of a relevant bias, and when deciding whether the cleansing effect of the trial process would be sufficient to ensure an impartial jury,” the decision read.

Going further, the justices argued the trial judge’s misapplication of certain legal tests created a “very real risk” that Whitehawk did not have a trial before an impartial jury.

“In other words, his convictions are properly seen as a miscarriage of justice,” the decision read.

While two of Whitehawk’s convictions have now been dismissed pending a new trial – he still remains in custody – serving a life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.

The sentence is for a second-degree murder conviction for Whitehawk’s role in the death of Keesha Bitternose on Jan. 2, 2020.