Teen pleads guilty to murder in daytime execution-style killing near Calgary playground
Investigators believe the shooting was targeted and tied to drugs
A teenager who shot a man seven times at close range pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Friday.
Christian Navos, 23, was shot as he sat in the driver's seat of his car in July 2020.
The shooting took place in daylight, near a playground in a residential neighbourhood in southeast Calgary.
At the time of the arrests, police said the killing was connected to a dispute over drugs.
The teen did not have a criminal record but had previously been shot twice in another Canadian city. He's been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) since the killing and is considered "in remission" from a drug and alcohol addiction.
The teen, who was 15 years old at the time of the murder, cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act because he was underage.
A report has been ordered before prosecutors Melissa Bond and Zailin Lakhoo and defence lawyers Kelsey Sitar and Kim Arial make arguments as to an appropriate sentence.
Last November, Troy Lemke, who acted as the getaway driver, pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to murder and was handed a three-year sentence, which he had completed by the time of his plea.
Lemke, the teen and Joseph Chlala were all charged following the shooting on July 14, 2020. Chlala pleaded guilty to manslaughter earlier this year but warrants were issued for his arrest when he failed to show up for sentencing.
Drug deal gone wrong
The day before the shooting, the three met at a hotel to discuss a drug deal, according to an agreed statement of facts filed as part of the teen's plea.
The day of Navos's death, Chlala asked Lemke to pick him up in Okotoks and take him to the Calgary community of Legacy, according to the agreed statement of facts. Both the teen and Chlala carried loaded firearms.
Lemke told police he believed he would be paid in drugs to transport Chlala, who was his dealer at the time.
The three pulled up beside Navos's Jeep just before 4 p.m.
Teen thought the victim had a gun
Lemke stayed in his running car while the other two got out, walked over to the Jeep, where the teen shot Navos seven times, according to the statement of facts.
The teen told police he believed he saw a handgun in the victim's lap. Investigators later determined it was a cellphone.
At a playground across the street, a mother heard the gunshots and saw the teen standing at the door of the Jeep, holding a handgun.
After the shooting, the youth and Chlala got back into the car and the three took off.
Police eventually tracked down the trio and arrested them.