Witnesses fear for safety at drive-by shooting trial

A judge is shielding the identity of dozens of witnesses to a drive-by shooting last August in downtown Prince George.

Eric West, Jesse Bird, and Fabian Charlie are on trial for the attempted murder of 19-year-old man, which police have linked to street gangs in the central interior city.

At the opening of the trial on Monday, Crown prosecutor Lara Vizsolyi told the court that many of the 26 witnesses work and live in the downtown area and "had expressed concern over their security, should their names be published."

Judge Karen Walker agreed, calling the trial "an unusual case with unusual concerns," and agreed to bar the media from reporting the names of witnesses, theirworkplaces, or anything that might identify them.

As the trial got underway, one witness testified that one group in the gunfight gathered first on the Prince George courthouse steps before speeding off in SUVs and Cadillacs. Then a few blocks away more than 40 shots were fired.

The court also heard a shop clerk weeping on a 911 call. The woman testified in court that she was dodging bullets during the gunfight at the intersection of 5th Avenue and Dominion Street, which left bullet holes in three cars.

A government worker testified he'd just moved to Prince George when he drove into the gunfire near the G'Z Up Clothing and the Rum Jungle shops. "I was very upset," he told the court.

As he testified, the three accused laughed and smirked in the prisoners' box where they sat shoulder to shoulder.

During their first few hours in court, the accused often talked and giggled and played with a court microphone until scolded by a sheriff. At one point, West studied a scar on Charlie's shaved head, rubbed the scar and then mimed a whack to his head, prompting all three accused to laugh.

The court did make two names public. The Crown said Garet McComb and Brittany Giese were present during the shootings, but have since died, in what police described attargeted murders. No one has been charged in eithermurder.