Technical issues plague remote testimony at Whitehawk trial

A series of technical difficulties delayed testimony in the trial of Dillon Ricky Whitehawk on Monday, as a defence lawyer sought to re-examine a witness.

The witness, who cannot be named due to a court-ordered publication ban, originally testified in person on on April 13, identifying Whitehawk as the shooter in the killing of 27-year-old Jordan Gaiton Denton.

Whitehawk, 27, stands accused of two counts of first-degree murder in the late 2019 deaths of Denton and 23-year-old Keenan Scott Toto. He pleaded not guilty to both charges when the trial began on April 4 at Regina’s Delta hotel, where it is expected to be heard for its duration.

Monday, Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Neil Robertson asked the jury not to infer anything about the fact that the witness had been recalled. This time her appearance was to be done by video link.

As proceedings continued, the entire courtroom was subjected to a series of echoes each time anyone spoke into a microphone. Court was adjourned to address the issue, which was resolved. However, as defence lawyer Thomas Hynes then endeavoured to play a series of audio clips to the witness, it seemed she was unable to hear what was being played.

Hynes’ line of questioning pertained to her participation in a past criminal matter.

He’d previously called into question the integrity of the information she provided to police with regard to the case, noting she identified a shooter in that case but her testimony at that 2017 trial differed from her police statement.

“I didn’t lie to the police, but I just didn’t go through with it,” she’d originally told Hynes.

When questioned again Monday, the witness seemed to have difficulty recalling the events as Hynes tried to take her through his understanding.

To a number of questions, she responded that she didn’t remember, noting that the events he was asking about had occurred a long time ago. However, she also seemed unclear on what exactly was being asked of her, stating a number of times that she couldn’t hear audio that Hynes attempted to play.

Crown prosecutor Adam Breker interjected at one point, wondering about the effectiveness of the way the process was being handled, adding that it seemed nobody in court could hear the audio clearly.

Further, responses given by the witness were difficult to discern from a number of positions within the gallery.

After an another adjournment to address the technical difficulties, it became clear that the remote testimony would not proceed. Robertson addressed the jury, saying the day presented a “few challenges” that the court was hoping to get “worked out,” and asked them to return Tuesday morning.

[email protected]

Want to know how we decide what to cover and how editorial decisions are made at the Regina Leader-Post and Saskatoon StarPhoenix? Get the weekly Letter From the Editor newsletter from the Editor in Chief Russell Wangersky and join the discussion on what goes into covering news and delivering commentary, both in print and online. Click here to subscribe.