(JESSICA WALLACE / iNFOnews.ca)
January 16, 2014 - 12:32 PM
KAMLOOPS - A judge has allowed the Crown to cross-examine a witness who recanted incriminating evidence in a Kamloops shooting trial.
The trial continues for Trevor Wilvers in B.C. Supreme Court in Kamloops. Wilvers faces multiple charges after Tanya Watkins, 25, was shot through the floor of a duplex on Brunner Avenue last summer.
Watkins testified earlier this week during the trial and told the court how she was sitting on her couch watching cartoons with her four-year-old daughter when she was shot in the arm.
Today, the trial continued with discrepancy over a witness who allegedly named Wilvers as the shooter to police. B.C. Supreme Court justice Sheri Donegan said Trevor Newton gave police a ‘free-flowing detailed account’ about the shooting. However, he later recanted his story.
“The Crown witness, Trevor Newton, testified essentially that he has no memory of a shooting on Brunner Avenue,” Donegan said. “He was present in the home at the time the shooting happened but claims to have no memory as a result of extreme intoxication.”
The Crown alleges Wilvers got into an argument with Newton — believed to be associates — when the gun went off upstairs around 6:20 p.m., hitting an unsuspecting Watkins downstairs.
Donegan allowed the cross-examination emphasizing the importance of Newton’s testimony in the administration of justice. She also said after reviewing Newton's statement, he didn't seem under the influence of any intoxicants.
Newton will take the stand later today.
Wilvers faces charges of assault, criminal negligence causing bodily harm, possession of a firearm contrary to court order, unlawfully causing bodily harm, uttering threats, possession of a prohibited/restricted firearm with ammunition, use of firearm using offence and possession of a weapon for dangerous purpose. The trial is expected to continue today and tomorrow.
To contact a reporter for this story, email: jwallace@infotelnews.ca, call: (250) 319-7494 or tweet: @jess__wallace.
—Edited at 1 p.m. on Jan. 16, 2014 after Newton showed up to court.
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