Killed passerby's final moments shown in court
Last Updated: Thursday, February 18, 2010 | 11:06 PM ET
By David McDougall, CBC News
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The jury in the trial of two men accused in the shooting death of a passerby outside a Toronto strip club in 2008 was shown dramatic security camera footage of the moments leading up to the victim's death.
John O'Keefe, 42, was shot and killed outside the Brass Rail Strip Club on Yonge Street south of Bloor Street in the early hours of Jan. 12, 2008, as he headed home from a downtown pub.
On Thursday, Crown attorneys at the Ontario Superior Court trial presented footage taken from a Brass Rail security camera at about 1:30 a.m. that morning that shows O'Keefe walking outside the club, then crumpling to the ground.
Awet Zekarias, 24, and Edward Paredes, 25, have both pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder charges in O'Keefe's death.
The security footage also captured the two accused at the entrance of the club minutes before O'Keefe's death. It showed Zekarias, and then Paredes being violently ejected by security staff.
Zekarias can be seen trying to re-enter the club several times and again being pushed forcefully onto the street.
Both men are then seen walking away from the scene.
According to earlier testimony by witnesses at the scene, Zekarias was arguing heatedly with security staff, saying his cellphone was still inside the club.
Off-duty officer testifies
Nick Smilis, a York Regional Police Service officer who was off duty at the time, testified Thursday that he was standing near the two accused as the situation unfolded.
Smilis told the courtroom that shortly after the two were ejected, he overheard Zekarias telling Paredes: "Pull it out, let's get our stuff out. We spent a lot of money in there."
Paredes drew a handgun from his waistband and pulled back its loading mechanism before putting the gun back under his belt, Smilis testified.
Smilis re-enacted what he saw that morning, arming the Desert Eagle handgun that killed O’Keefe and pointing it toward the back of the courtroom. He said he immediately recognized the distinctive click of the gun's mechanisms.
"If you're not going to do it, give it to me," he recalled Zekarias saying to Paredes.
The latter was walking toward the club at the time, Smilis said.
O'Keefe died instantly after being shot in the head.
In a formal admission submitted to the court Tuesday, Paredes admitted to firing the gun that killed O'Keefe with a stray bullet.
Justice Mary Lou Benotto told the jury Tuesday the admission meets the requirements of manslaughter, but not of murder. The Crown still has to prove the accused had the intent or "state of mind" to commit murder, she told the jury.
The trial continues Friday.
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