Defence says eight-year sentence would be fit and appropriate for Trequawn Alvontra Smith, a 26-year-old, first-time offenderPublished Oct 06, 2026Last updated 5 hours ago7 minute readTrequawn Alvontra Smith follows defence lawyer Patrick MacEwen out of Dartmouth provincial court Tuesday after his sentencing hearing on attempted murder and other charges from a February 2024 drive-by shooting. The judge reserved her decision until Oct. 21. Photo by Steve Bruce /The Chronicle HeraldArticle contentA young man with no previous criminal record is facing a lengthy prison sentence for his involvement in a drive-by shooting in north-end Dartmouth in February 2024.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentTrequawn Alvontra Smith, 26, of North Preston stood trial in Dartmouth provincial court on 17 charges from the shooting, including attempted murder.Article contentArticle contentJudge Jill Hartlen delivered the verdict last March, finding Smith guilty on all charges.Article contentArticle contentSmith’s sentencing hearing was held Tuesday, with the judge reserving her decision until Oct. 21.Article contentCrown attorneys Eric Taylor and Greg Morris argued for a sentence of 13 to 15 years in prison less a remand credit of about 6.5 months.Article content“The gravity of Mr. Smith’s offence is extremely high,” Taylor told the court. “His level of culpability is also very high.Article content“In this case, one of gun violence erupting in the community and targeting an innocent victim who suffered significant harm, there is a strong need for Mr. Smith’s sentence to emphasize denunciation and deterrence, both specific and general.Article content“The Crown submits that a significant sentence of federal incarceration in the double digits is required in this case. Nothing less can deliver the message of denunciation and deterrence the circumstances of this offence call for.”Article contentDefence lawyer Patrick MacEwen said an eight-year sentence would be fit and appropriate. MacEwen said the sentence proposed by the Crown would be crushing for his client, an African Nova Scotian who is a first-time offender, comes from a supportive family and has tremendous prospects for rehabilitation.Article contentArticle contentArticle contentDetails of the shootingArticle contentThe shooting happened Feb. 19, 2024, at about 3:10 a.m. at the intersection of Catherine Street and Lahey Road.Article contentKody Pelrine, 21, was on his way to the airport when he was shot.Article contentPelrine was driving his Ford Focus on Catherine Street when he came to a four-way stop, where he observed a westbound black SUV on Lahey Road.Article contentMoments later, the SUV rolled into the middle of the intersection and a passenger in the back seat began firing at Pelrine’s vehicle.Article contentPelrine saw two people in the front seat of the SUV and noticed that the back passenger-side window was down. He said a head popped up in the back seat and then he saw a grey handgun.Article contentA bullet came through the windshield and struck Pelrine in the forehead.Article contentAs the SUV drove away, Pelrine slumped over the centre console of his vehicle and used his cellphone to call 911.Article content Halifax Regional Police process the scene of a shooting in north-end Dartmouth on Feb. 19, 2024, that sent a man to hospital. Photo by Tim Krochak /The Chronicle HeraldArticle contentWhile Pelrine was on the phone, the SUV returned and stopped next to his car. As Pelrine ducked down over the console, more shots were fired at him.Article contentSeveral faint pops can be heard on the 911 call, which was played in court during trial.Article contentPelrine then sat up in his seat and drove off, still talking to the 911 operator. He saw two Halifax Regional Police vehicles on Wyse Road and stopped his car in the middle of the street to get the officers’ attention.Article contentWith blood running down the left side of his face, Pelrine got out of his vehicle and approached the officers, pleading for help and telling them he had been shot by someone in a black SUV.Article contentParamedics transported Pelrine to the Halifax Infirmary, where he underwent brain surgery later that morning. Metal fragments were removed from his head during the procedure.Article contentWhen Pelrine woke up after the operation, he had 37 staples across the top of his head and three stitches to the wound on his forehead. He was released from the hospital three days later.Article contentArticle contentPelrine testified in March 2025 that he didn’t get a good look at the occupants of the SUV but said all three were Black males. He said he did not believe he had problems with anyone and had not done anything to provoke the shooting.Article contentTwo handguns recovered in traffic stopArticle contentAbout 10 minutes after the shooting, an RCMP officer pulled over a black Hyundai Kona in the Main Street area of east-end Dartmouth. Smith was driving the vehicle, and there were two passengers.Article contentBelieving these were the suspects in the shooting, the officer opened the driver’s door to remove Smith and pat him down. That’s when he saw the handle of a handgun sticking out from under the driver’s seat.Article contentWhile the Mountie was handcuffing Smith, the two passengers ran from the vehicle.Article contentThe firearm recovered from underneath the driver’s seat was a semi-automatic Glock pistol that had one round chambered and nine nickel rounds in a 22-round overcapacity magazine.Article contentThe officer found a second semi-automatic Glock under the front passenger seat. That weapon also had one round chambered, with seven brass rounds in its 12-round overcapacity magazine.Article contentArticle contentSmith had gunshot residue on both hands and on the left side of his face. His DNA was contained in one mixed profile on the gun found under the driver’s seat and in a mixed profile on a balaclava that was seized from the vehicle.Article contentA forensic firearms specialist gave opinion evidence about 23 expended bullet cartridge cases that were recovered from the scene and six projectiles that were recovered from the roadway on Catherine Street or Albro Lake Road, from a tree on Catherine, from Pelrine’s brain, or from inside the driver’s door of vehicle that had been parked at an address on Lahey Road.Article contentThe expert also analyzed a metal fragment from the door frame of Pelrine’s vehicle and a fired bullet that was in the front bumper.Article contentEleven of the expended cartridge cases appear to have come from the Glock found under the driver’s seat of the Kona, the expert concluded, and five came from the other handgun. Seven of the expended cartridges were fired by a third gun, probably another semi-automatic pistol.Article contentThe Crown said the circumstantial evidence, when viewed as a whole, excluded all reasonable alternatives other than that Smith attempted to murder Pelrine by firing at him or by driving the vehicle to facilitate the other occupants to shoot at Pelrine.Article contentThe defence said that while the circumstances appeared suspicious, the evidence allowed for other reasonable inferences.Article content Trequawn Alvontra Smith, right, leaves Dartmouth provincial court March 24, 2025, during a break at his trial on 17 charges, including attempted murder, from a drive-by shooting in February 2024. Smith was found guilty on all charges. Photo by Steve Bruce /The Chronicle HeraldArticle contentHartlen, in her trial decision, said a constellation of factors combined to lead to the only available inference that Smith and the other two males in the vehicle were working together to shoot Pelrine.Article content“This was not a drive-around-and-shoot-up-the-neighbourhood shooting spree,” the judge said. “This was a very intentional drive-by shooting, a twice drive-by shooting, with the target being the person who was driving the Focus.Article content“When this court considers the evidence and absence of evidence, in light of human experience and common sense, there exists no other reasonable inference than that Mr. Smith is guilty of the attempted murder of Kody Pelrine.”Article contentArticle contentThe judge said the evidence also established Smith’s guilt on counts of aggravated assault, discharging a firearm with intent to endanger a life, recklessly discharging a firearm, using a gun in the commission of an offence, and 12 other weapon-related charges.Article contentThe Crown is proposing that Smith be sentenced on eight charges, and that the balance of the convictions be stayed.Article contentAccused’s life ‘shattered’ by gun violenceArticle contentA cultural assessment was completed for Smith’s sentencing hearing. In his submissions, MacEwen noted that since Smith’s graduation from high school, his life has been “shattered by the effects of gun violence.”Article contentIn January 2021, Smith lost a “dear friend” in a shooting at a party in their community, MacEwen said. In March 2022, Smith’s best friend was murdered at a party in downtown Halifax. Smith saw his friend’s body on the street before driving himself home.Article content“Mr. Smith left … Halifax for a period after his friend’s murder to get away from the gun violence but returned and has lost three other people close to him since that time,” MacEwen said. “His uncle died in a car accident, while two … friends died due to gun violence.”Article contentArticle contentMacEwen pointed out that the cultural assessment indicates that Smith has not properly dealt with these losses. He has not had any counselling for grief or loss and did not attend some of the funerals for his friends.Article content“While a direct connection between Mr. Smith’s lived experience and the offences before the court is not delineated within the report, it would seem logical that anyone who has experienced this degree of loss due to gun violence may choose to arm themselves in response,” MacEwen said.Article contentSmith was in custody until June 2024, when he was released on a $125,000 bail order with house arrest and electronic monitoring.Article contentIn December 2024, investigators charged Cory Julian Taylor of North Preston with 12 offences in connection with the shooting, including attempted murder.Article contentTaylor, now 27, pleaded guilty in provincial court in July 2025 to a single charge of unauthorized possession of a loaded prohibited firearm — the gun found under the front passenger seat of the Kona. This summer, he received an 18-month conditional sentence, to be followed by a year of probation.Article content
Crown seeks 13 to 15 years in prison for man convicted in 2024 Dartmouth drive-by shooting
