Crime in British Columbia: Prosecutor closes double murder case

In a final opportunity to address the jury, prosecutors argued that Kane Carter's conduct after the deaths of two people in Vancouver should leave no doubt that he fired the fatal shots.

Carter, 28, is accused of the premeditated murder of 15-year-old Alfred Wong, an innocent bystander, and 23-year-old Kevin Whiteside, a suspected gang member, and of seriously injuring Shaiful Khondoker, another innocent bystander who was shot but survived.

On January 13, 2018, Wong, a high school student from Coquitlam, was sitting in the back seat of his family's car when the teenager was caught in the crossfire of a reckless shooting on East Broadway near Ontario Street.

Police initially believed Whiteside was the target of the shooting, but later said he was the one who incited the deadly violence.

Prosecutors said Whiteside was in the area the night of the murder to kill 28-year-old Matthew Navas-Rivas, who was dining at the Indochine restaurant.

Prosecutors believe Carter worked in a “middle management position” for a telephone exchange run by Navis-Revis under the code name “Elijah” and had parked nearby that night to keep watch in case anything went wrong.

As Navas-Rivas left the restaurant, Whiteside reportedly shot him; prosecutors believe that's when Carter fired the fatal shots.

The prosecution reminded the jury that they had been presented with evidence that Carter had changed his telephone number the following day and that he had admitted to flying to Ontario a week later.

“We say this is another example of Mr. Carter actively taking steps to distance himself from the shootings,” said District Attorney Dan Blumenkrans.

Jurors were also shown a second set of recordings of phone conversations Carter made from various prisons, including one from the Central East Correctional Centre in Ontario in June 2019, when he was incarcerated for another crime.

Prosecutors say the call came one day after Vancouver police officers arrived at the prison to question Carter.

During part of the phone call, Carter is heard telling an unidentified man: “You have no eyewitnesses, you have no one who can locate me at the crime scene, you have no video of me slapping anyone,” he is heard saying.

An expert on street language and slang testified that “slapping” means shooting.

“He doesn’t say I didn’t do it or wasn’t there,” Blumenkrans said.

“He's essentially saying the police have no evidence that I did it,” he continued.

“Wouldn’t one expect him to deny in some way that he was the shooter in these calls?” Blumenkrans asked the jury

The burgundy van

At the beginning of the trial, a former customer who had become an employee of the drug chain testified about the company's internal operations.

This included the use of a burgundy Pontiac Montana delivery truck for drug deliveries.

The man said he was driving the van on the day of the murders when he received a call from Elijah telling him to return the vehicle immediately.

The jury was shown video of a van of the same make and model parked on Ontario Street, south of East Broadway, at the time of the shooting.

Crown is convinced that Carter fired the shots that killed Wong and Whiteside from this van.

Investigators later found a burgundy Pontiac Montana van in the parking garage of the Surrey apartment complex where Carter had rented an apartment in his brother's name, according to the indictment.

A burgundy van seen at the crime scene and a burgundy van of the same make and model found at Kane Carter's apartment are the same vehicle, the prosecution argues.

Carter has admitted that both a tissue with his blood and his DNA were found in the van in the parking garage.

A Vancouver police officer said three cartridge cases and weapon remains were also found in the vehicle.

Crown also pointed out that the external characteristics of the van at the crime scene and the van in the parking garage were “identical”.

These included a dipped beam, a green new driver sticker on the back, and a black rim on the left rear tire that didn't match the others.

On Thursday, the defense will have the opportunity to speak to the jury.