The jury at the second degree murder trial of Zachary McDermott heard from it’s first civilian witness on Thursday morning. Robert Dawson, 67, a retired trucker, testified that he was sitting in his car outside the Tim Hortons at 2094 Dundas St. E. on the afternoon of Sept. 12, 2018. He said he saw the victim Christopher Clements-Card walking with his brother and then seconds later a car pulled into the parking lot saying, “He goes around the building and starts to shoot at the young lads.” “I could see everything, there was nothing between me and the shooter,” Dawson said. “The shooter got into the car and left and then the one lad dragged his friend into the Tim Hortons.” Under cross-examination he did admit to the defence team that the incident did occur eight years ago and that he may be mistaken about some details today. Later in the day the first officer to arrive at the scene took the stand and he testified about the chaotic and mess he came upon. London Police Det.-Const. Evan Bertin told the court that when he walked into the coffee shop, “I saw the victim in a large pool of blood screaming that he had been shot….He kept saying he couldn’t breathe and that he was going to die.” The officer said he started doing chest compressions until the ambulance arrived minutes later, “At that point he had lost vital signs.” At the hospital the officer said family and friends of Clements-Card started arriving and he saw that, “They were yelling they wanted to see him...obviously they were very frantic.” The victim was rushed into the operating room but would later be pronounced dead after suffering two gunshot wounds to the back. Days later the accused, Zachary McDermott, 26, would be arrested and charged. He has plead not guilty to second degree murder. The trial is expected to hear more testimony on Monday morning.
