Witness testifies he saw accused level gun at victim

Court hears that man accused of murder was paranoid, jittery, as if high on meth

A witness at the second-degree murder trial of Dallin Lane Singharath testified to seeing the accused pointing a gun toward Tyler Applegate’s house with his arm fully extended.

The witness, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, said they believe a shot was fired from a gun that Singharath had up his jacket sleeve.

Singharath, 21, is accused of fatally shooting Applegate, 27, in an alley behind Applegate’s 33rd Street West duplex on July 22, 2017. The witness identified the sawed-off .22-calibre rifle that police seized in the shooting as the gun Singharath was holding.

The judge-alone trial at Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench heard Applegate and the group involved in the shooting encountered each other for the first time that day after Applegate chased a man who was urinating near his property.

The man then brought his friends back to Applegate’s yard, Applegate’s spouse testified earlier this week.

A contempt charge hanging in limbo against a Crown witness refusing to give evidence on Tuesday was purged Wednesday morning when the man changed his mind and agreed to testify.

The witness, whose identity is also banned from publication, told Crown prosecutor Cory Bliss he was not trying to protect Singharath, whom he said he’s never met.

He said he saw people get out of a black truck in the alley behind Applegate’s home and “somebody got shot.” He said he doesn’t know where the gunshot came from, or who was holding the gun.

The witness testified he didn’t know there was a gun until he heard it go off. He said the shooting was

“probably accidental” although he admitted he had never mentioned that in previous statements.

The second Crown witness also testified the shooting appeared accidental.

Both witnesses, on cross-examination, said the shooter was acting paranoid and jittery, like he was high on methamphetamine. They said they are familiar with the behaviour because they also used meth.

A court exhibit shows where Tyler Applegate, 27, was fatally shot in his 33rd Street West yard after he chased away a man urinating nearby.

Police seized a sawed-off .22-calibre rifle that was used to fatally shoot 27-year-old Tyler Applegate on July 22, 2017.