Article contentThe prosecution’s key witness was Morgan (Too Hot) Harrington, a career criminal who identified Drake as the gunman.Article contentHarrington and Keizer were both living at a halfway house on Gottingen Street at the time of the shooting and were subject to an 11 p.m. curfew. Harrington said he was outside the halfway house on the night of Nov. 21, 2016, talking on his cellphone when Drake showed up wearing a hoodie.Article contentHe said he walked over to Drake on the sidewalk and was greeted with a fist bump rather than the usual slap five or half-hug, which struck him as odd.Article contentHarrington said Drake was standing in the parking lot when he called out, “Too Hot, come holler at me.” He said they had a conversation about money he owed Drake for cannabis and made small talk.Article contentWhen Keizer drove into the parking lot in a black Dodge Durango, Harrington said he realized why Drake was there. Harrington said he told Drake, “Adam, you don’t have to do this,” or words to that effect, but Drake walked toward the vehicle.Article contentArticle contentHarrington was arrested for allegedly breaching his statutory release by being involved in the shooting. He didn’t reveal the identity of the shooter to police before he was returned to prison.Article contentHarrington agreed to implicate Drake in the shooting in early 2019, after he was charged in a Halifax cocaine and heroin bust. Those charges were dropped in exchange for his co-operation, along with other matters in Quebec and New Brunswick.Article contentHarrington refused to go into witness protection but received financial assistance and other help from police and was eligible for a $150,000 reward if Drake was convicted.Article contentIn his Oct. 25 decision, Gabriel said he was “acutely aware” that Harrington’s testimony was the only evidence that put Drake in the parking lot at the time of the shooting.Article contentThe judge said Harrington was an unsavoury witness whose evidence had to be treated with extreme caution. He described Harrington as dishonest and violent and said he has demonstrated little regard for other people or the law.Article contentArticle contentGabriel also pointed out that Harrington had already received a “considerable package of benefits” from the police and stood to gain more.Article content“It would be dangerous to convict upon the unconfirmed evidence of this witness,” the judge said.Article contentHe then listed at least 27 pieces of evidence that he said corroborated relevant parts of Harrington’s story and convinced him of Drake’s guilt.Article contentIn a handwritten notice of appeal filed in December, Drake asked the Appeal Court to overturn his conviction and stay the charge or find him not guilty.Article contentIn the notice, Drake claimed the trial judge erred by dismissing his application for a stay of proceedings based on an unreasonable delay in getting to trial or an abuse of process by the Crown.Article contentDrake also said Gabriel erred by admitting evidence of group motive, erred in his assessment of the evidence at trial and arrived at a verdict that was unreasonable.Article contentLawyers Stan MacDonald and Michael Lacy are handling the appeal. They and Crown attorney Cory Roberts appeared in Appeal Court chambers by phone Thursday to set a date for the hearing.Article contentJustice David Farrar scheduled the appeal to be heard May 13.Article content
Adam Drake’s appeal of Keizer murder conviction to be heard in Nova Scotia Court of Appeal next May
