Jury to begin deliberations in murder trial

A jury is expected to begin deliberations today in a long-running trial for three men accused of committing a drug-related murder.

Lyle William Baker, Kevin Roy Zaporoski and Dustin Allen Lindgren face the charge in the June 2012 death of Jordan Christian Reno.

Reno’s body was found in a wooden box in the back yard of Baker’s 4100-block Knight Crescent property and Crown prosecution is alleging a plan to “work over” Reno for stealing drugs and money escalated into a plot to kill him.

After hearing testimony over the course of the last nine weeks, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ron Tindale spent Monday delivering his charge to the six-man, five-woman jury, providing advice on how they should consider the evidence.

Jury members can variously consider verdicts of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, manslaughter and forcible confinement or not guilty altogether for the three, Tindale advised.

Reno, who was 22 years old, was found with a piece of white plastic, then a piece of cloth and with plastic wrapped around his head.

A pathologist testified Reno died from blunt force trauma to the head and could not determine when his head was bound.

The Crown alleged Reno was tied to a chair and punched and kicked to death at Baker’s home.

Spatters of Reno’s blood were found in the master bedroom, but no chair showing signs of such a use was found at the scene, it was noted.

Abrasions were found on Reno’s forearms but defence counsel contended those could have come from handcuffing during a recent arrest.

A toxiciologist testified to evidence of methamphetamine, marijuana and a prescription antidepressant were found in Reno’s blood, leading defence counsel to suggest his death could have been from the effects of the drugs in his system.

However, the concentrations of the substances could not be quantified and “nothing remarkable” about Reno’s internal organs was found during an autopsy, Tindale noted.

No DNA evidence from Baker was found on Reno or his clothing but was found on the box, while some DNA from Zaporoski was found on Reno’s clothing.

Much of the Crown’s case relies on a series of text messages cen- tred on Reno’s behaviour towards Lindgren, as well as another man, Bradley Douglas Barr.

Certain Reno had stolen from him, in the early morning hours of June 17, 2012, Barr had sent a message to Baker offering him $5,000 to “help work Reno over.”

Baker agreed and recruited Zaporoski.

Lindgren, in turn, complained to Barr he had suspected Reno had collected money customers owed to him for drugs sold and was now in hiding.

The matter escalated from there, with Lindgren now posing as a fictitious “dad” who wanted revenge on Reno.

When he was arrested, Lindgren told police he was in Quesnel working for Barr and owed him $10,000 and had taken on the “dad” character as a form of protection.

Images and video from security cameras at Baker’s home showed he and Zaporoski leaving during the early morning of June 19, 2012 and returning with Reno a few hours later.

In summarizing the cases of Crown and defence counsels, Tindale said counsel represent- ing Baker noted he appeared to have apologized to Lindgren in a text message after Reno’s death, suggesting he did not intend to kill him and at worst he committed manslaughter.

Zaporoski’s counsel contended he had nothing to do with Reno’s death. The surveillance camera showed Zaporoski leaving the home wearing a different shirt but it was argued he was known to change his attire often.

As well, Zaporoski owned a truck yet did not help Baker with disposing of Reno’s body, even though Baker had told Lindgren he needed a truck with a canopy or a van.

Countering that, a woman testified she overheard Zaporoski saying he should “kill that kid,” although defence questioned her reliability given she was a drug addict at the time and had given conflicting dates on when she heard the alleged statement.

Lindgren’s defence relies primarily on not being at the scene and a claim the pathologist’s work was sloppy.

RCMP never asked if he intended to kill Reno, stopping the interview once he admitted to sending the text messages, his counsel also said.

Barr refused to testify when called as a witness and now faces a charge of contempt of court.

Tindale will provide some comments to the jury this morning before sending them away to deliberate.

(Jordan Christian Reno’s) body was found in a wooden box in the back yard of Baker’s 4100-block Knight Crescent property and Crown prosecution is alleging a plan to “work over” Reno for stealing drugs and money escalated into a plot to kill him.