The failed appeal of a first-degree murder conviction of a Halifax gangland shooting in 2010 is providing a fascinating glimpse into the world of would-be gangsters.
Brandon Hatcher was gunned down on Lavender Walk in the Greystone area of Halifax on Dec.3, 2010.
One of the men involved in the shooting was subsequently convicted of first-degree murder. Although he was charged as a youth, Matthew Munroe was sentenced in 2013 as an adult and given a mandatory life sentence with no chance of parole for 10 years.
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Munroe, who was 17 at the time Hatcher was shot to death, appealed his conviction on the grounds that the trial judge erred in allowing text messages as evidence.
The appeal was heard in December 2015, but a written decision was just released by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal.
The defence alleges the messages should be considered hearsay evidence or dismissed because they are associated with Cody Muise, another man convicted of murder in the Hatcher shooting.
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The appeal court rejected that argument entirely and dismissed Munroe’s appeal.
The text messages at the heart of the defence’s argument show how members of a group of young criminals who called themselves “Spryfield MOB” communicated and planned the shooting.
Spryfield MOB were a group of drug dealers with ties to a criminal organization headed by notorious gangland member Jimmy Melvin Jr.
Hatcher was considered a rival drug dealer, who the gang believed was involved in the shooting of another man, Colin Gillis.
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Muise believed he was the intended target of that shooting, not Gillis, so he planned to strike back at Hatcher.
The planning involved a flurry of cell phone calls and text messages between Muise and another man using code words.
In one message Muise is asked if he wants a “sweater” and a “poop hockey stick.”
“Sweater” is a code word for a bullet-proof vest, and the gang members used the term “poop hockey stick” for a .20 gauge sawed-off shotgun.
Instructions in the messages had one of Muise’s accomplices transport the items in a guitar case. There were also instructions for him to bring an item referred to as “the good one”, which meant a rifle with an ammunition clip and pistol grip.
Additional text messages unsuccessfully tried to find ski masks for all the shooters.
One of the shooters had charges against him dropped in exchange for being a Crown witness. He is currently in the witness protection program.
During the trial, he described how he, Munroe and Muise walked along a path behind Elizabeth Sutherland School and along a street in Greystone concealing the weapons under their clothing.
Then they called Hatcher outside through another series of cell phone calls while they hid behind some large rocks. After Hatcher was shot in the back, the three fled the area.
Another flurry of text messages gave them the location of police, who began sealing off Greystone looking for the suspects.
“GS is blocked off,” reads one text message, referring to the main street in an out of Greystone, when police blocked the road
Muise is also now serving an automatic life sentence with no eligibility of parole for 25 years. He also unsuccessfully appealed his conviction arguing he shot Hatcher in self-defence.
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