Wrong address murder: Judge finds man guilty in shooting of Saskatoon mother

SASKATOON — A judge has found a man guilty of first-degree murder for setting up a gang shooting that targeted the wrong house and killed a woman inside as she and her husband were getting their children ready for the day.

Joshua Petrin was also convicted Thursday of conspiracy to commit murder.

Lorry Santos died in September 2012 when she was hit while looking out the front window of her Saskatoon home.

The Crown had argued that Petrin did not have to be the one who pulled the trigger to be found guilty.

Court heard that Petrin ordered two men to kill a former gang associate, but they went to the wrong address and gunned down the 34-year-old Santos instead.

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Queen’s Bench Justice Mona Dovell gave Petrin the automatic sentence of life in prison with no parole eligibility for 25 years on the murder conviction and 12 years on the conspiracy charge. The sentences are to be served concurrently.

The two men who killed the mother of four and who had already been convicted are also serving a life sentence.

The family sobbed quietly as Dovell read her verdict, which was followed by victim impact statements. In a written statement read by a friend, Santos’s husband, Ferdinand, said his future was stolen from him the day his wife was shot.

“I’m half a person because of this crime,” he said.

Daughter Frederique Santos said weekends are no longer the happy times they used to be.

“Our family made Sundays our special days,” she said, describing how the house would be filled with people sharing a big breakfast and stories from the week.

“(Now) Sunday routines never feel complete.”

She recalled seeing blood stains leading to the spot where Santos lay dead, and that instead of her mother’s last words being, “I love you,” they were, “Oh my God.”

“We will never be as happy as we used to be. We will never be as complete as we used to be.”

Their youngest son was only five months old when Santos was killed. The family said he asks why his mom is in heaven.

Santos was killed when Randy O’Hagan rang her doorbell and unloaded a .40-calibre Glock pistol through the front bay window of the home. A second gunman fired at the side of the house.

During Petrin’s trial, court heard from several witnesses who admitted to being affiliated with him in the drug trade. They all testified that he was a high-ranking member of the White Boy Posse street gang and that TJ Cromartie was Petrin’s right-hand man selling cocaine.

Cromartie took off in the summer of 2012. Petrin’s former girlfriend, Karissa Dow, testified that Petrin was furious. Two other witnesses told court Petrin offered them incentives to find Cromartie.

Another witness, who can’t be named due to a publication ban, said Petrin repeatedly instructed the two gunmen to find Cromartie and “blast” him.

Petrin’s defence lawyer opted not to call any witnesses. In his closing arguments, Brian Pfefferle questioned the credibility of the Crown’s witnesses, as well as the tactics used by police during their investigation.

He said Thursday that he was surprised by the verdict and that his client intends to appeal both convictions.

Prosecutor Matthew Miazga acknowledged the Crown’s witnesses were problematic due to their criminal pasts, histories of substance abuse and various incentives given to them to testify. But he argued there was enough evidence from other sources to back up their testimony.

(CKOM, CTV Saskatoon, The Canadian Press)

The Canadian Press

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