Four accused committed directly to trial for slaying in September

A direct indictment filed in Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench is sending four men charged in connection with the death of Kevin Nataucappo directly to trial.

Mohamad Al-zawahreh, 23, Darrell Keith Dustyhorn, 38, Destin Mosquito, 21, and Devin Aldon Wesaquate, 26, are charged with manslaughter and break and enter to commit assault with a weapon. They will be arraigned on the direct indictment on Wednesday, Al Zawahreh’s lawyer, Brian Pfefferle, confirmed.

Nataucappo, 31, died on Sept. 21, 2019 after what Saskatoon police described as a home invasion at 95 Howell Avenue in the city’s Hudson Bay Park neighbourhood. Police do not believe it was a random incident.

Mosquito is additionally charged with unauthorized possession of a loaded, prohibited firearm and possessing a firearm while prohibited from doing so, according to the indictment filed on April 27.

Mosquito and Wesaquate had bail hearings and were denied release, while Al-zawahreh and Dustyhorn consented to their remand. All four men were at the preliminary hearing stage in Saskatoon provincial court when, at the Crown’s request, the province’s deputy attorney general preferred the direct indictment.

The process commits cases with indictable, or serious, offences to the trial stage at a higher court without holding a preliminary hearing to lay out the evidence in the case. Direct indictments are requested for several reasons, including avoiding court delays.

It will take some time until a trial date is set.