From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Tue Feb 02 2010 - 15:21:10 EST
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Video+shooting+prove+Calgary+killing+deliberate+trial+hears/2510950/story.html
Video of shooting to prove Calgary killing deliberate, trial hears
Beltline attacker prepared weapon, ran toward victim
By Daryl Slade, Calgary HeraldFebruary 2, 2010Be the first to post a comment
CALGARY - Surveillance video of the shooting death of Efrem Kuflom will
prove it was premeditated, a judge was told Monday at the start of a
first-degree murder trial.
Crown prosecutor Ryan Claxton said in his opening statement the shooter was
caught on several cameras outside a Tim Hortons coffee shop in the Beltline.
The cameras recorded three minutes and 28 seconds of the incident.
Several shots were fired about 11:20 a.m. on Aug. 18, 2008, at the coffee
shop at 12th Avenue and 11th Street S.W.
"Camera 7 catches the shooter putting on a mask, preparing the firearm and
ultimately running in the direction of the deceased," Claxton told Court of
Queen's Bench Justice Sandy Park.
"Regrettably, Kuflom dies from a single wound to the chest . . . penetrating
the pulmonary artery and aorta."
The prosecutor said the victim's 2004 black Pontiac continues for some
distance following the shooting and goes through the fence of a nearby
schoolyard before coming to rest.
He was dead when found slumped over the steering wheel.
Semere Mehari, 31, pleaded not guilty through lawyer Joan Blumer before the
start of the scheduled three-week trial.
He was arrested in Lethbridge and charged more than three months after the
slaying.
Police said the victim and accused knew each other through Calgary's
Eritrean community, and the shooting was likely drug-related.
Claxton, who is co-prosecuting the case with Sue Kendall, said there are
three major issues: identity of the shooter, intention of the shooter and
planning and deliberation. Claxton said the prosecution plans to prove all
three during the trial.
"The Crown has a theory, not a complex theory, which will be presented by
the evidence. We'll be arguing the court can answer all three issues in the
affirmative," he said.
He said 10 people, who were close to the scene at the time of the shooting,
will be among about two dozen witnesses for the Crown.
Several surveillance videos from different angles at the Tim Hortons and
adjacent Mac's Convenience Store will also be entered as exhibits.
Most of the opening day evidence was presented by city police crime scene
officers, who took photos and gathered exhibits from the site of the
shooting.
dslade@theherald. canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
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