New trial ordered for Neil Yakimchuk, accused of killing Isho Hana

The Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan has ordered a new trial in the case of Neil Yakimchuk who had been convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Isho Hana in Saskatoon in 2004.

Hana, 34, was an alleged drug dealer who was shot to death on a Saskatoon street. Yakimchuk was one of four men accused in the case.

On Wednesday, the appeal court said there was an error made in Yakimchuk's trial. The court said the judge should have told the jury that a conviction of manslaughter was an option for them to consider.

"The trial judge erred by not leaving the jury the option of convicting Mr. Yakimchuk of the included offence of manslaughter," the appeal court said.

The Crown prosecutor on the case, the court noted, agreed that the only way to deal with the judge's mistake was to hold a new trial.