Prince Albert Court of Queen’s Bench. Photo courtesy of Chelsea Laskowski.
A key witness at the Prince Albert trial into the spring 2014 murder of Cree teen Clayton James Bear has a history of “lying under oath,” according to closing arguments from lawyers representing the men accused of killing him.
Orren Johnson and Jordan Herron are accused of first-degree murder and break and enter in relation to 17-year-old Bear’s death on April 14, 2014.
Trial witnesses say Bear was in bed after a Prince Albert East Hill house party when a group of men stormed into the house and opened fire before entering the bedroom Bear was in.
No one witnessed the gunshots that killed Bear, nor is there any direct DNA evidence or a weapon tying Orren and Johnson to the crime.
At trial, however, a number of witnesses placed the co-accused at the scene right before and after the killing.
On Monday, Crown prosecutor Jeff Lubyk delivered closing arguments to the 12-person jury. He relied heavily on trial testimony from Herron’s former girlfriend Miranda Soderberg and her friend Danielle Josie to build his version of events leading to Bear’s death.
Meanwhile, both Johnson’s lawyer Lisa Trach and Herron’s lawyer Mary McAuley spent the bulk of their closing arguments casting doubt on Soderberg and Josie’s testimony. Not only were the two women “heavily intoxicated” the night Bear died, they have also contradicted their police statements a number of times and admitted to lying while under oath, McAuley told the jury.
Lubyk agrees there are inconsistencies with their testimony, but said “this case is more than what” Josie and Soderberg said. He pointed to testimony from a number of other witnesses, saying they corroborate key times and details in this case to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that Johnson and Herron are guilty of first-degree murder.
McAuley said the inconsistencies in the Crown’s key testimony are too great. For example, McAuley said, Soderberg and Josie lumped together two completely separate incidents that occurred in the home that night.
The events leading to Bear’s death
Defence and the Crown agree that Soderberg and Josie had been drinking with Herron and Johnson throughout April 3 and into the following morning.
Their paths parted when a number of women in the group went to a party at the West Hill home where Bear was staying.
At around 4 a.m., a number of witnesses heard gunshots in the area, which they described as “pop, pop, pop” or “firecracker” noises. Trach argued her client had zero connection to that incident.
Johnson, Herron and a third man named Scott Dzik decided to join the women at the party, believing they had been invited, McCauley said.
Witnesses said when the men arrived, they were threatened at knifepoint and told to leave. It is unknown what time this happened, but Kelsey Bear testified she joined the men on a trip to 7-11 right after they left the home. Video surveillance from 7-11 shows the group arriving around 4:53 a.m.
The Crown and defence say a separate incident occurred at around 5:40 a.m. when gunshots were heard, again coming from the area of the West Hill home.
Lubyk said Soderberg witnessed Herron and Johnson kick in the door of the home where Clayton was sleeping, carrying a weapon with them. This is disputed by both defence lawyers.
Motive
Lubyk painted a motive for murder that is rooted in “jealousy and bravado,” with Herron and Johnson taking an hour and a half to plan the shooting after the dispute at the house party.
The men were mad that Soderberg wanted to go to a party without Herron, Lubyk said, and their anger was further fueled by the dispute. Lubyk said this is bolstered by testimony from Kelsey, who joined the men on a trip to 7-11. Kelsey said they swore at her, asking why they’d been invited only to be turned away.
McAuley said there is no substance to Lubyk’s argument, which she said relies on Josie “assuming” the murder was tied to a fit of jealousy.
Trach said Johnson “wasn’t mad at all,” according to trial evidence.
She urged the jury to check their feelings about the “tragic” death of 17-year-old Clayton at the door and rely on logic when they start deliberations on Tuesday.
Before then, Justice J.D. Kalmakoff will charge the jury to ensure they understand what is required for a finding of guilty or not guilty.