Friend of B.C. gang hit target testifies in innocent bystander murder trial

A friend of a man targeted in a gang hit in Vancouver six years ago testified Wednesday at the trial of a man accused of killing two other people that day, including an innocent teenager.

The witness, who cannot be identified because of a publication ban, said she and her friend Matthew Navas-Rivas escaped the attack in a taxi amid a hail of bullets, one of which killed an innocent 15-year-old boy.

Alfred Wong was struck while riding in the back seat of his parents’ car on the way home from dinner on Jan. 13, 2018. He later died in hospital.

2:31 Kane Carter trial: Global News obtains more evidence in case of teen killed by stray bullet

Also killed at the scene was Kevin Whiteside, who police say was on Broadway near Ontario Street that night with plans to kill Navas-Rivas.

Kane Carter has pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and one count of aggravated assault in the case.

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In court on Wednesday, it was revealed that the female witness gave her statement to police less than three months ago, more than six years after the attack.

The court heard the witness and Navas-Rivas departed in the cab as Whiteside pursued the taxi down the busy Broadway corridor on foot, shooting wildly.

Moments later, Whiteside was shot dead by Carter, the Crown alleges.

The witness and Navas-Rivas, Whiteside’s alleged target, escaped unhurt.

2:16 Trial begins for man charged in 2018 Vancouver shooting that killed innocent teen

The killer, who Crown says was across the street in a burgundy van, fled the scene.

Stray bullets fatally struck Wong and grazed another innocent person in a separate vehicle.

The female witness told the jury she did not remember hearing gunshots, did not see who pulled the trigger and had no information regarding the identity of the shooter.

She told the court that police would not leave her alone for six years, that officers seized her phone and that they tried to offer her payment for her password.

She told the court she finally agreed in April 2021 and signed a $15,000 contract.

While Navas-Rivas escaped the January 2018 attack, he died six months later after being shot in the head in an unrelated incident.

Carter’s defence has yet to outline its theory of what happened on the day of the shootings.

Crown counsel is expected to close later this month meaning the trial will not run into November as originally scheduled.

— with files from Rumina Daya