Dillon Whitehawk retrial underway for dual 2019 shootings

Dillon Whitehawk is set for a retrial for the 2019 killings of Jordan Denton and Keenan Toto. Mick Favel reports.

After successfully appealing two 2022 murder convictions, Dillon Whitehawk is back in court for a new trial in the deaths of Jordan Denton and Keenan Toto.

Both men were killed in separate drive-by shootings in Regina’s North Central neighbourhood in 2019.

Denton was shot on Nov. 9, 2019, in the 800 block of Robinson Street. Toto was killed three weeks later, on Dec. 1, 2019, in the 1200 block of Queen Street.

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Whitehawk was charged in both murders. A 12-person jury previously found him guilty on two counts of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison with no eligibility for parole for 25 years.

Nearly 50 prospective jurors were screened before a new 12-person jury was selected for the retrial.

A Regina Police Service patrol officer was the first witness to testify. She told court she responded to the shooting on Robinson Street and found Denton on the ground, wounded and unresponsive. Life-saving measures were attempted but were unsuccessful.

Whitehawk has pleaded not guilty to both charges in the new trial.

Forty witnesses are expected to testify. The trial is scheduled to continue until March 22.