Retrial date set for man accused in murders of B.C. gang member, innocent teen

A courtroom sketch of Kane Carter, charged with the second-degree murders of two people in Vancouver in 2018.

A retrial date has been set for a man accused of fatally shooting a rival gang member and an innocent teen passerby in Vancouver in 2018.

Kane Carter will face a new jury during an eight-week trial starting on May 20, the B.C. Prosecution Service confirmed Tuesday following a pretrial conference in Vancouver.

Jurors were deadlocked at the end of the 28-year-old's second-degree murder trial last month. With the jury unable to reach a unanimous verdict, a mistrial was declared.

Carter is charged with the murders of 15-year-old Alfred Wong and 23-year-old Kevin Whiteside, who were fatally shot near Broadway and Ontario Street.

Jury deliberations ceased in early September after jurors informed the judge they felt it would be "unhealthy" to continue their efforts to reach a consensus.

"While carrying out your obligations as jurors over these past few months, you’ve represented the people of Canada in the most important civic duty," B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Wedge told the jury after officially declaring a mistrial.

Carter was smiling as he was led out of the courtroom by sheriffs.

Crown prosecutors argued at trial that Carter was the lone occupant of a minivan parked south of the Vancouver intersection on the evening of Jan. 13, 2018.

Carter was there with the intent to protect associate Matthew Navas-Rivas, who was at a nearby restaurant, prosecutors suggested.

When Whiteside began shooting at Navas-Rivas, Carter returned fire, killing both Whiteside and Wong, who was riding in the backseat of his parents' car as they drove along Broadway, prosecutors argued.

However, Carter's lawyer told jurors there were "significant gaps" in the chronology of the Crown’s theory.

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Ian Holliday and Ben Nesbit