The retrial for a B.C. man accused in a Vancouver gangland shooting that left an innocent teenager dead has been delayed until September.
Kane Carter’s original trial ended in a mistrial last September, when the jury declared it was deadlocked after five days of deliberation.
The new trial was meant to take place in May. But the BC Prosecution Service told Global News one of Carter’s lawyers has since been appointed to the judicial bench, and that his new lawyer was not available for trial this month.
The prosecution service said the new trial has been scheduled for Sept. 29. It added that Carter has also formally abandoned plans to apply for a bail hearing.
In the initial trial, Carter pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in the Jan. 13, 2018, attack that left alleged gangster Kevin Whiteside and innocent 15-year-old Alfred Wong dead.
Wong was struck by a bullet while travelling in the back seat of his parents’ car, while another innocent bystander was grazed by a bullet in his own vehicle.
Carter did not testify at his first trial. His lawyers argued that the Crown had failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Carter had fired the deadly shots, telling the jury there were too many gaps in the evidence.
The case revolved around the identity of the shooter. No witness saw who pulled the trigger, and the murder weapon was never recovered.
Prosecutors had argued that Carter was in Vancouver to kill Whiteside, who was himself in the area to kill gang rival Matthew Navas-Rivas.
— with files from Kristen Robinson