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Joshua Petrin wanted an ex-member of the White Boy Posse “blasted” for leaving the street gang without permission, according to a Crown witness at Petrin’s first-degree murder trial.
Petrin is charged in the death of Lorry Ann Santos.
The 34-year-old mother of four was shot to death in the front room of her home in September 2012.
The two men who fired shots that day are both serving life sentences for their roles in her death.
In one of the trials, it came out that the pair had the wrong address when they went to Santos’ home, due to a bungled series of text messages.
In his opening statement Monday, Crown prosecutor Matthew Miazga said Petrin should be convicted of first-degree murder because, even though they killed the wrong person, he allegedly set the gunmen on the path to murder.
No details identifying the witness who testified for the Crown on Tuesday can be published due to a court order.
The witness told court Petrin was a high-ranking member of the White Boy Posse gang who came to Saskatoon to check on a drug operation meant to help the gang expand beyond its Edmonton-area turf. According to the witness, Petrin also came to assign a mission: the killing of an ex-White Boy Posse member known as T.J., who left the gang without permission and was believed to have fled to Saskatoon.
The witness went on to tell court Petrin pressured the two gunmen to hurry up and complete their task, as he wanted to get back to Edmonton. He said Petrin was intimately involved in planning details of the hit, even coming along to purchase ski masks and gloves for the shooters.
The witness said Petrin got upset as the gunmen watched Santos’ home for several days without seeing their intended target.
Early on the morning of Sept. 12, 2012, one of the gunmen rang the front doorbell of the Santos home and then fired through a bay window with no idea who was behind it, according to the witness. The witness said the pair of shooters decided to act because they didn’t want to face Petrin again without having completed their task.
The witness said Petrin “seemed pleased” when the pair told him they’d shot someone in the home.
Petrin’s trial began on Monday – the four-year anniversary of Santos’ death. It’s scheduled to last two weeks.
