Warning: This story contains details that may disturb some readers. Discretion is advised.
The trial of a man accused of shooting a pregnant woman in the stomach in East Vancouver last year resumed Monday, with emotional testimony from the victim.
Carleton Stevens has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and possession of a prohibited firearm in the attack on his 31-year-old ex-girlfriend on May 18, 2018.
The victim, who can only be identified as JY due to a publication ban, was six-and-a-half-months pregnant at the time of the shooting, and lost her baby.
On Monday, JY took the stand for the first time, where she told the court she had been dating Stevens for less than a year when she got pregnant, and that he wanted her to get an abortion.
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Through tears, JY told the court she was in a deep sleep in a loft above an East Vancouver print shop when she heard sounds and was woken by the feeling of a presence in the room.
She testified that she heard swearing, and recognized the voice as belonging to Stevens.
“I saw the gun, Carleton putting the gun together,” she said. “I turned to run. I got shot… right on my stomach. The bullet went through the umbilical cord and it’s still in my spine.”
JY went on to tell the court Stevens had accused her of being unfaithful, and that he had threatened to shoot her on more than one occasion.
The Crown’s case hinges on conclusively proving Stevens was the gunman.
Security video captured at the scene shows two men leaving the print shop under the loft in the minutes after the shooting, but JY acknowledged on the stand that she can’t be 100 per cent sure he is one of the men in it.
Crown has previously said several witnesses will testify to seeing Stevens holding a gun, and that the accused is wearing similar running shoes to those seen in the CCTV video when he was arrested several days later in Surrey.
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