The jury now deciding the fate of Kyle Weese was never told he was convicted in 2006 of another shooting, eerily similar to the wild gunplay outside the Duke of York Tavern that took the life of Bailey Zaveda of Brockville.
Weese is on trial for first-degree murder in the death of Zaveda and the wounding of four others Oct. 25, 2008 at the pub.
The jurors, who began deliberations Wednesday afternoon, were told of his violence-riddled criminal record, but they never received the complete, chilling picture.
Madam Justice Mary Lou Benotto ruled that a similar shooting by Weese on Feb. 9, 2005 in which 23-year-old Hanna Henry Hudson was gunned down was simply too prejudicial.
The judge concluded that Weese's fair trial rights would have been violated if the jury heard about the gunplay.
Hudson survived the shooting, but Benotto felt that the jury might conclude that Weese had a propensity for murder.
The jury was only told that Weese "assaulted" a victim -there was no reference to the shooting -and received an almost four-year sentence and a lifetime weapons ban.
The judge also decided that the jury shouldn't hear about the time a gun was found in a car Weese was driving in 2002. In that case, he was convicted and received time served -12 months -plus a mandatory gun ban.
In the 2005 shooting incident, Weese called out at his victim and pulled out a black revolver from his waistband over a petty dispute, perhaps over a girl.
Weese fired once at Hudson, who ran northbound on Sherbourne St. The two men knew each other from the neighbourhood.
A second shot struck Hudson on the back of his upper right arm. Weese fled as people ran into their homes, with one woman diving to the ground for safety.
Hudson ran up Gerrard St. E. and collapsed near Allan Gardens with the bone in his arm shattered by the bullet.
The prosecution case was riddled with problems and the Crown had to settle for a four-year sentence, probably the best it could have hoped for under the circumstances.
The victim was so frightened that he changed his story at the preliminary hearing. The only other witness, a hooker, died after testifying at the preliminary.
Weese enjoyed less than five months of freedom befoe he allegedly gunned down Zaveda.
The chaotic scene on Sherbourne St. resembled the shootout outside the Duke of York tavern.
Both shootings were in public places where terrorized citizens ducked for cover.
At the Duke of York, innocent bystanders -such as Zaveda -rushed for cover as a gunman repeatedly fired until he emptied his semi-automatic handgun. Zaveda, 23, was struck with six bullets, killing her and wounding four others.
This dispute on Queen St. was minor, too, the jury was told.
Weese was angry that Addie Reddick accosted his girlfriend. Reddick dared Weese to step outside for a fistfight.
"He could have lost that fight with Addie and that would have been a loss of face," said Det.-Sgt. Gary Giroux, one of the investigating officers.
"It was Weese's bar and he couldn't afford to lose face."
Reddick, who is larger and brawnier than Weese, grabbed his groin and called Weese a "bitch", testified Nathan Reddick, Addie's uncle, who witnessed the scene.
The prosecution is alleging Weese got a handgun from an associate and came back firing in the direction of Reddick, who had retreated into the bar and escaped injury.
But his uncle, Nathan, was wounded and watched as Zaveda was shot repeatedly.
Nathan told the jury his recurring nightmares of watching Zaveda die compelled him to break "the code of the street" -which means you never speak to the police. He testified against Weese and named him as the gunman.
Weese's defence was that he never took up the challenge because he couldn't fight due to his asthma and he left to complete a drug deal.
Weese's violent past was well-known in the Queen St. E.-Leslie neighbourhood where people fear and loathe him.
"He's trying to portray himself to be a big-time cocaine dealer -he's not. He's collecting welfare and sponging off his girlfriend, who's also on welfare," one trial insider said.
"He's a class A loser. He doesn't own a house or a car. He uses his girlfriend's cellphone."
Article ID# 2809220
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