The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
Three suspects named
Truro police have arrested and or charged three men in last month's homicide of Truro resident Prabhjot Singh Katri, 23.
Dylan Macdonald, 21, of Burris Drive, Valley, is charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder and appeared in Shubenacadie provincial court via telephone Friday morning.
And police said in a release Friday morning that they have arrested a second man, 20, from Pictou Landing First Nation, for murder. The man, who was unnamed in the release, is currently in police custody.
At the time of Macdonald's hearing, Cameron Prosper, although named in the court documents, had not been officially charged in the murder.
The charges filed against Macdonald allege that he assisted with Prosper's escape while knowing that Prosper had murdered Singh. And, that on Sept. 5, 2021, Macdonald operated a vehicle while being pursued by police and failed to stop as soon as reasonably possible. He is also charged with operating a vehicle in a dangerous manner.
Police also issued an arrest warrant for a third man, Marcus Denny, who has been charged with helping Prosper escape and also for providing false information about the case to police.
Truro police responded to a call shortly after 2 a.m. on Sept. 5 at 494 Robie St., regarding a man who had suffered serious injuries.
Singh was pronounced dead at 3:06 a.m.
“The Truro Police Service would like to thank Mr. Singh's family and friends, and the Maritime Sikh Society for their patience, trust, and support during this investigation,” the release said.
“We recognize this was and continues to be a difficult time for those close to Prabhjot. We also want to acknowledge the pain that this senseless act has caused the entire community, and we understand that people have been very anxious and fearful.
“Knowing how important a quick resolution was, our investigative team worked tirelessly to conduct an extensive investigation. This work is complex and technical, and our end goal has always been bringing those responsible to justice.”
In addition to the Truro Police Service, the North Nova Major Crime Unit, the RCMP Forensic Identification Section and the Halifax Regional Police Criminal Investigation Division assisted in the continuing investigation.
Because the case is still before the court, the release said police cannot provide further comment or information at this time.
During a news briefing at the Truro Police station Friday afternoon, Chief David Macneil said he did not wish to identify the murder suspect until he is formally charged. He was brought into custody in another jurisdiction on other charges.
“We have an overwhelming amount of evidence that we've gathered in this case. And we're very confident of where we are today,” Macneil said.
“We're actively looking for the third suspect that the warrant has issued for and we ask the public if anyone knows where his whereabouts is to please contact us or your local police,” he said, regarding Denny.
Macneil also said police knew early on who was involved, which was why they had maintained that public safety was not at risk.
“We do recognize the emotional toll that that takes on the community, especially the Sikh community, locally and nationally. And we do feel very bad for that. But the investigation has to go through the investigative stages, we have to make sure we take the time to do things correctly," he said.
"At this point in time, the investigation is still ongoing. And with the pending court process now we're not going to say anything around the case, as far as the investigative techniques, around evidence that was gathered or around potential motive, not because we don't want the public to know, it's because we have to protect the integrity of the investigation. We've worked so hard and the community struggled with this for a long time, we've now got to a point where we can get some closure before the courts, we don't want to do anything to jeopardize prosecution down the road.”
Macneil also spoke about the toll the case has taken on those involved in the investigation.
“Through this investigation, nobody felt the pressure more than our police officers and our investigators to bring justice to Prabh's family and friends and the greater community. And that was front foremost in our mind. But we can't miss a step, we can't rush, we can't do things that take shortcuts. So these things take time. This was, all in all, this was a pretty short resolution to a crime like this. So we are very happy and proud that we're here today. And hopefully the community and family and his community locally and, nationally, can try to come to grips with this and try to heal from it.”