Pitter found not guilty of firing shots into home

A jury has found Jayden Pitter not guilty of shooting a seven-year-old east Hamilton boy who was playing inside the family home two years ago, leaving him on life support and close to death for days.

The public cannot hear the full details of the trial that led to Pitter's acquittal - on charges of intentionally and recklessly firing into a place knowing someone was inside and aggravated assault - because of a sweeping publication ban imposed by the judge midtrial. A motion to lift the publication ban will be heard Friday morning.

Police arrested and charged Pitter, 22, of Hamilton, after the little boy was shot in the stomach at 7:50 p.m. on Jan. 23, 2020. The boy, whose identity is also covered by a separate publication ban, and his family lived at 16 Gordon St., near Barton and Gage, in lower east Hamilton.

We're elated," said Scott Reid, Pitter's defence lawyer. I know Mr. Pitter is very pleased. It's not really a cause for celebration because a seven-year-old boy was shot. Our hearts go out to him and his family.

On the other hand, it's been a long road for Mr. Pitter and this ordeal is now behind him."

Reid said the jury worked very hard and their verdict shows someone else shot the boy.

Crown prosecutors Amber Lepchuk and Michael Dean had argued that it was Pitter, a rapper who went by the nicknames Lowkey" and Kyrie," who fired the two shots into the Gordon Street home. They argued Pitter frequented the home of the boy, his young sisters and their pregnant mother, and had a beef with another adult in the house.

Earlier in the trial, the boy's mom testified she'd gone to bed early that night because she was feeling queasy and was idly watching a live surveillance feed when she caught sight of someone walking up the walkway beside her home.

She testified she didn't recognize who it was at that moment because of the shock and chaos of hearing two shots, and the subsequent screams of her little boy.

One bullet tore through the boy's hand, slammed into his abdomen, and lodged in his hip. But his mother later told police that, once she'd had a few minutes to think clearly while waiting at the hospital as surgeons fought to save his life, she realized it was Lowkey." She testified she'd recognized from his walk, build and type of jacket he was wearing.

Paul Morse is a Hamilton-based reporter at the Spectator. Reach him via email at pmorse@thespec.com