REGINA – The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal has overturned Brandon Brick’s second-degree murder conviction and sent the matter back to Saskatoon Court of King’s Bench for a new trial.
Brick’s appeal was based on his assertion that his trial counsel provided ineffective representation. Brick alleged that his lawyer failed to properly advise him on the issue of self-defence and his claim that he shot James Chaisson in self-defence. He argues that, as a result, he was deprived of an informed decision as to whether to testify.
"I agree that a miscarriage of justice occurred due to the ineffective conduct of Mr. Brick's trial counsel," said Court of Appeal Justice Jillyne Drennan, in concurrence with Chief Justice Robert Richards and Madam Justice Georgina Jackson in a Sept. 14 written decision.
Brick’s appeal was heard in December 2022 and June of this year. He will remain in custody until after his new trial on the second-degree murder charge.
In October 2020, after a judge alone trial, Brick, now 32, was sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 12 years on a second-degree murder charge in the death of Chaisson. Brick is accused of shooting and killing Chaisson on Feb. 14, 2018, in the 100 block of Avenue P Â鶹´«Ã½AV in Saskatoon.
Brick swore an affidavit and was cross-examined before the Sask. Court of Appeal. He said that he shot Chaisson in self-defence after Chaisson attempted to rob him in the vehicle by pointing a firearm at him.
His trial counsel testified that Brick didn’t tell him that he shot Chaisson in self-defence until mid-trial on March 10, 2020. He also said he had many discussions with Brick about testifying and advised against it because of his history with violence and drug use, and gang involvement. He also thought there wasn’t any evidence to support his claim of self-defence.
Court documents show that at Brick’s trial, the Crown’s theory was that Brick, along with Nathan Pelly, Dakota Badger Knight, and Justin Dreaver, drove to a 7-Eleven in Saskatoon where they met Chaisson. Brick then forced Chaisson into the vehicle, by threatening him with a firearm and eventually shot him, unprovoked, with the other passengers present. Chaisson got out of the vehicle and died shortly after.
The Crown argued the killing may have been gang motivated.
The Crown’s key witness at trial was Pelly who testified that he was dating a member of the Terror Squad street gang at the time of Chaisson’s death. Pelly testified to having been present, hours prior to the shooting, when Brick and others went to the residence where he was staying. Drugs, knives, and firearms were present. Eventually, Brick and Pelly left, picking up Dreaver and his girlfriend, Badger Knight. The group then went to Brick’s girlfriend’s place, where they consumed drugs.
The same group of four left around midnight and drove in a car to the 7-Eleven. Once there, Pelly testified that Brick called through the passenger window for Chaisson to get in the vehicle. He said that Brick drove a block, pulled over, and shot Chaisson who was seated behind the front passenger seat, next to Badger Knight who was seated in the middle, and Dreaver, who was in the back passenger side seat.
Chaisson had a backpack at the time of the shooting, court heard. Surveillance video showed that after he exited the vehicle, he began running down the street, tossing the backpack away, and collapsing nearby the backpack shortly after.
Mitchell Sasakamoose testified that Brick had told him that he was prepared to shoot someone to impress a gang.
The defence didn’t call any evidence at the October 2020 trial.
Chaisson was originally from North Battleford and spent part of his childhood in Speers, Saskatoon, and Whitecap Dakota First Nation, according to his obituary.
Brick also faces a new charge of assault against a guard at Saskatchewan Penitentiary in Prince Albert. Brick, who has since been moved to Kent Institution, a maximum-security prison in Agassiz, British Columbia, is refusing to appear in Prince Albert Provincial Court to face the new charge, according to court documents.
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