Witness testimony links SKS rifle to street gang during Dillon Whitehawk's murder trial

Warning: The following story contains details that may be disturbing.

 

A black SKS rifle continues to come up in Crown witness testimony during the Dillon Whitehawk murder trial.

Whitehawk is accused of first-degree murder in the death of Keesha Bitternose on Jan. 2, 2020.

Autopsy results show Bitternose died as a result of multiple injuries, including sharp and blunt force trauma as well as a possible gunshot wound. However, the autopsy report could not definitively prove if Bitternose was shot.

Surveillance video, acting as evidence for the Crown, shows a man in a black facemask running along Montreal Street with what appears to be a rifle on Jan. 3, 2020, the day after Bitternose died.

That same morning, police were called to a home in the 1900 block of Montreal Street where they found an SKS rifle, black facemask, two black gloves and a cellphone in a woman’s backyard.

On Thursday, cst. Chelsea Kotylak testified that the SKS rifle matches the serial number of a gun that was bought by Gabriel Whitehawk, Dillon’s brother, in June 2019.

Kotylak told court that an investigation revealed Gabriel was known to supply guns and ammunition to the Indian Mafia (IM) street gang. Crown witnesses previously testified to Whitehawk and Bitternose being members of the IM.

According to Kotylak, Gabriel was charged and convicted for gun trafficking and participating in organized crime in 2021.

Defence lawyer Thomas Hynes argued Kotylak did not have direct communication with Whitehawk during the investigation and his name only came up in interviews with other people. Hynes added the investigation was not in relation to Whitehawk, but rather to his brother Gabriel.

Earlier in the trial, a Crown witness, who had ties to the IM, testified that the SKS rifle was often kept at the Cameron Street house where police found Bitternose’s body on Jan. 5, 2020.

The Regina Police Service (RPS) asked firearms analyst Megan Evoy to assess the SKS rifle in February 2020.

Evoy testified as an expert witness. She told court the rifle was considered prohibited because it had been adapted and shortened in some way. She added the ammunition that Gabriel bought with the gun was likely lead bullets, but she could not say for certain.

In court, the Crown asked Evoy what would happen if a bullet from that rifle was shot at a concrete wall. If the bullets were made of lead, she said they could compress on impact or break up into a lot of really small fragments.

A CT scan performed at the time of Bitternose’s autopsy revealed small metal fragments inside her abdomen. However, these particles were not found or tested during the autopsy examination, the forensic pathologist testified, because there was no indication that a firearm was used early on in the investigation.

FORMER GANG MEMBER IDENTIFIES GUN

A former IM gang member testified in court that the SKS rifle in question belonged to the gang. He added that a select few, including Whitehawk, had access to the rifle.

The witness’ identity is protected under a publication ban.

The gun was kept at “the farm,” he said, which was a house on the 1900 block of Montreal Street. However, he said it was common for the rifle to be at the gang’s Cameron Street hangout house, the same home where Bitternose’s body was found.

The witness told court he had never met Bitternose, but he had heard of her before.

The Crown argued Bitternose’s death was gang related, planned and deliberate, and she was unlawfully confined at the time.

Crown prosecutors asked the witness to explain what the term “green light” meant in relation to being in a gang.

The witness explained if a gang member is green lit that means they have a target on their back and other members are ordered to kill them. If gang members testify in court or rat out other members to the police, they can be green lit, he said.

The witness had no knowledge of Bitternose ever being a target. He said higher up gang members would have to vote to green light someone, adding if someone started a rumour about another gang member being green lit, that would be frowned upon and require disciplinary action.

During cross-examination, Hynes questioned the witness’ memory as he told court he was drunk or high during some of the events he had to recall.

The witness said it was possible he was confusing details with other events.

Hynes also highlighted that the witness had nothing to do with the female gang members at the time of his membership and he never had any discussions with Bitternose.

The Crown is expected to call DNA analysts as expert witnesses when court resumes Friday morning.