Slain man’s girlfriend testifies in Sioux Valley murder trial

The girlfriend of a 21-year-old man who was fatally shot in 2023 on Sioux Valley Dakota Nation described calling out for help after seeing him fall to the ground during a murder trial in Brandon.

“I ran up to him, and when I got there, he was laying on the ground, and there was already lots of blood on the road. He was trying to talk and open his eyes,” Madison Daniels, 21, said in Court of King’s Bench on Wednesday.

Jeremy Blacksmith, 43, pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Blaze Tacan, along with two weapons offences.

Daniels, who said she had been dating Tacan for almost five years at the time of the shooting on Aug. 5, 2023, told the court she had been visiting with Tacan’s family at his mother’s house.

She testified that while outside with his family members, she saw a 17-year-old boy from the community drive by the house on a motorbike. Tacan was not at the house at this time.

She said the youth lifted the side of his shirt, “almost flashing something.”

Daniels took Tacan’s family, most of whom were kids, into the house, and she saw the youth drive by again through the window, she testified.

Daniels, and a male teen who was with her, told Tacan what happened when he returned, and he asked what direction the boy went, court heard. She said he then walked in that direction.

“You could tell they were arguing, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying,” Daniels said, referring to Tacan and another person who she couldn’t see. “Out of nowhere, that’s when (I) could hear the gunshot.”

Daniels said she ran to Tacan, saw the gunshot wound and called out for help. She didn’t see a gun or who shot him, she testified.

She told the court she stayed with Tacan until an ambulance took him, and he was subsequently airlifted to Winnipeg.

When questioned by defence, she said she didn’t get a good look at the object the boy flashed, but that it looked like a gun.

Defence lawyer Bob Harrison asked if the person’s voice who Tacan was arguing with sounded young. Daniels said she couldn’t recall.

Chris Tacan, a First Nations safety officer in Sioux Valley, described responding to the shooting during his testimony.

He said he and his partner were on duty and got a call at around 5:15 p.m. that someone had been shot. Within minutes, the two were at the scene and saw a body on the road, court heard.

He said Tacan’s mother was yelling at them, “He’s going right there.” The officer said he saw Blacksmith and the 17-year-old boy around the corner of Blacksmith’s house.

“They both just kind of looked at me, and then they just turn around and they disappeared behind the house.”

Harrison asked in cross-examination if the officer remembered what either of the males was wearing. He said he didn’t recall.

Allison Smoke, who was living with her partner at a house neighbouring Blacksmith’s, also took the stand.

She said she was inside her house when she heard the gunshot and, about five minutes later, went outside to make sure her family and dogs were all right.

While outside, she testified that she saw Blacksmith on his deck. A few minutes later, he and the 17-year-old were standing outside together, she said.

“They looked very scared or nervous or something,” she said. “We were looking at him, and he was looking back at us. No words were said or nothing, just a very awkward pause, and then they started walking.”

She said the boy was carrying a bag over one shoulder.

Defence lawyer Anthony Dawson questioned her about the bag, including its size, whether she looked inside it or saw anything being put in it, and confirming who was holding it.

She said the bag was already on the boy’s shoulder when she saw him and she didn’t know what was inside.

He also pressed her on why she went outside after the gunshot.

Sgt. Michael Zinn, a member of the RCMP, testified via video and explained how his police dog, Jolt, found a gun in a bush near Blacksmith’s home. Zinn and Jolt arrived on scene at around 7 p.m. and, within five minutes, found the gun.

Zinn said he brought Jolt to the rear of Blacksmith’s residence to start the search, and almost immediately, Jolt’s behaviour changed.

She made her way to a bush and lay down, a signal that she had found evidence, he said.

Zinn said he told other RCMP members at the scene what they had found and got them to retrieve the item, which was a red and black sweater wrapped around a sawed-off shotgun, three slugs, one spent slug and a birdshot.

He said part of why the search was completed so quickly is because of the mix of items placed in an area that they “have no business being in.”

“You have a sweater that has human odour on it … they hold a ton of odour,” he said. “And then on top of that, then you also have a spent shell casing that was fired.”

When questioned by Justice Elliot Leven, Zinn specified that the dog searched for a general human scent and not a specific person’s scent.

The trial continues.

» sanderson@brandonsun.com