Sioux Valley man convicted in 2023 shooting death

A Sioux Valley Dakota Nation man has been convicted of second-degree murder in the shooting death of 21-year-old Blaze Tacan in 2023.

Jeremy Blacksmith, 43, stood trial in Brandon’s Court of King’s Bench in January for the charges of second-degree murder, possession of a firearm while prohibited and failing to comply with his release order.

Blacksmith testified during the trial and admitted to telling police several lies. During cross-examination, he ultimately confessed to fatally shooting Tacan on Aug. 5, 2023, in Sioux Valley.

On Friday, Justice Elliot Leven convicted Blacksmith of all charges and gave a written decision outlining his reasons for the convictions to the lawyers.

“Credible eyewitnesses testified that they saw the accused shoot the victim,” Leven said in his written decision.

Leven said the accused gave a statement to police that included “blatant internal inconsistencies” and specifically mentioned the “bizarre claim” that Tacan shot himself and a later claim Blacksmith made to police that “they” shot him.

In direct examination, Leven said, the accused testified under oath that he lied to police and said another person, who the Sun cannot name under the Youth Criminal Justice Act since he was a youth at the time, shot Tacan.

“I did not believe the accused when he claimed in court that (the youth) had shot the deceased. I did believe the accused when he eventually admitted … that he himself shot the deceased,” Leven said.

“For reasons of his own, the accused confessed to murder (and two other offences) under oath, but then refused to plead guilty to the three offences.”

Leven said he got the impression that Blacksmith’s confession had a certain degree of “gravitas” that his earlier “self-serving” evidence lacked.

He said that while it’s undisputed the youth was nearby when the shooting happened, there was almost no evidence to support the notion that the youth shot Tacan.

The judge referred to testimony from a witness who saw the accused raise the gun, heard the gunshot and saw Tacan fall on the road in front of her relative’s home in Sioux Valley.

Leven said her evidence was credible and reliable.

“Her evidence can literally be described as smoking-gun evidence against the accused,” he said.

The witness described the gun as a sawed-off shotgun. Police later found a sawed-off shotgun, along with shells, in a bush wrapped in a hoodie.

Both the Crown and defence agreed that a firearm injury to the head caused Tacan’s death.

Another witness, the youth whom Blacksmith at one point stated shot Tacan, also testified that he saw Blacksmith turn the gun on the victim and shoot him.

“(He) testified credibly that he did not shoot the accused,” Leven said.

The judge said the evidence from witnesses who didn’t see the shooting itself wasn’t inconsistent with the Crown’s theory and nothing contradicted the eyewitnesses’ evidence in any crucial way.

“None of the witnesses who heard the gunshot saw anyone other than the accused holding a gun just before the gunshot,” Leven said.

He added that even if Blacksmith hadn’t confessed on the stand, the Crown proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

In relation to the two firearm charges, Leven said the evidence against Blacksmith was “even stronger than the evidence in respect of murder” and noted that the defence didn’t attempt to suggest an alternative theory in which Blacksmith could be found not guilty of the weapons charges.

Joe McArthur, Tacan’s stepdad, felt a “strong sense of relief” when he heard Leven tell the court Blacksmith was guilty of all charges, he told the Sun in a phone interview following the decision.

“It’s been 32 and a half months,” McArthur said. “It’s been a long, difficult road, and I think we’re glad that we’re at this point, that we got that verdict.”

He said the decision also brings the family a sense of closure.

McArthur described Tacan as friendly, outgoing and overall a “real good kid.”

“He was such an awesome kid,” he said. “I think anybody you talk to, if they knew him, would say the exact same thing.”

McArthur said he will be attending Blacksmith’s sentencing hearing, which will take place at a later date, following the completion of a court-ordered pre-sentence report.

» sanderson@brandonsun.com