Cellphone records of accused in shooting of boy show no activity at time of incident
A jury has heard that Jayden Pitter's cellphone went silent and stopped recording any activity during the time a seven-year-old boy was shot and critically injured in his home in east Hamilton two years ago, despite texting back and forth with his then-girlfriend and others before and after the time of the shooting.
Assistant Crown attorney Amber Lepchuk introduced cellphone evidence Thursday that shows Pitter, 22, in a text message argument with girlfriend Zummer Sheikh, a Hamilton nursing student working in a local hospital, before the shooting, and then more texts to Sheikh afterwards asking if she'd heard about the shooting and if she knew whether the boy would live.
A Hamilton police detective who analyzed Pitter's cellphone also testified that Pitter's cellphone had logged numerous searches for breaking news about the shooting and the boy's condition on The Hamilton Spectator website and other news outlets.
The little boy, whose name is subject to a publication ban, was shot in the hand and belly through a window of his family home at 16 Gordon St., near Gage and Barton streets, at around 7:50 p.m. on Jan. 23, 2020. He remained on life support for four days after surgery removed a bullet that struck his hand before it tore through his bowel and smashed into his hip. He survived the shooting.
In text messages about 20 minutes before the shooting, Sheikh asked Pitter if he wanted to link" with her, meaning to meet up. But Pitter texted back saying Z, idc anymore." IDC is a common texting acronym for I don't care."
Pitter's cellphone stopped recording any activity at 7:38 p.m. If there is no activity, that typically means the phone is off," testified Det. Michael Ebert of the Hamilton police's major crimes unit who analyzed the data of Pitter's phone.
Just before 10 p.m., Pitter and Sheikh started texting again, arguing about their relationship. But minutes later, the tone changed.
Baby, have you heard about the shooting?" Pitter texted her. A seven-year-old got touched."
Ya, I work in the hospital," she replied.
Pitter: Is he gonna live?"
Sheikh: Ya, but in critical condition."
Pitter: So he won't die?"
Sheikh: He might if he don't pull through. He's fighting for his life. My girl works on the trauma centre. They gonna update in the morning."
Pitter: Pray for him."
Sheikh: I pray the person done it get caught in the worst way possible.
Pitter: Real shit, baby."
Ebert said Pitter's cellphone showed dozens of searches for news of the boy's shooting the night of Jan. 23 and the next day.
Defence counsel Scott Reid suggested in his cross-examination that searching for news is not an unusual activity and that the phone generally showed news searches every day. I wouldn't agree with that," Ebert said.
Reid also asked Ebert if it's possible that a cellphone could show accessing a news story through news apps that send out news notifications. If you're a CBC news junkie, the (CBC) news app pushes notifications to the phone, yes?" Ebert agreed.
The trial continues Friday when co-accused Mohd Amiri, who is co-operating with the prosecution, is expected to testify. Prosecutors at the opening of the trial said Amiri was the driver of a car that brought Pitter to 16 Gordon St. and then drove him away after two shots were fired into the house.
Paul Morse is a reporter at The Spectator. pmorse@thespec.com