A psychiatrist told a Toronto court that J.S.R., the first person convicted in the Boxing Day 2005 shooting of teenager Jane Creba, has a "cavalier" attitude towards her death.
Lindley Bassarath interviewed J.S.R. in February and said Monday that the now-21-year-old made several statements that caused him concern.
Of Creba's death by a bullet fired in a reckless shootout between thugs on Yonge Street, J.S.R. told her, "'How do they know she wouldn't have been hit by a car or something?'" he said.
J.S.R. said he is staying in contact with the mother of his two children, aged four and seven, so he can "grab" them when he is released from prison, the psychiatrist said.
Bassarath said he found J.S.R.'s statement about Creba to be "cavalier and callous." It suggested J.S.R. is unwilling to take responsibility for what happened outside the Foot Locker store on Dec. 26, 2005, he said.
The defence team protested their client's innocence, again saying he didn't fire a weapon that night. His remarks should be viewed in that context, they said
The psychiatrist raised a flag about J.S.R.'s statement with respects to his children. "It does concern me that he's capable of that, of that level of manipulation," Bassarath said.
The 21-year-old man, who can only be publicly identified as J.S.R. because he was a youth at the time of the shooting, was convicted in December of second-degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault and five weapons charges.
A jury believed he was an active participant in a violent shoot-out that killed Creba and wounded six other innocent bystanders.
The gun fight took place outside a Footlocker store on Yonge Street in Toronto's busy downtown shopping district on one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
Two groups of men were involved in the fight.
Eight other people -- seven adults and one youth - will also face trial in the Boxing Day murder. They are all charged with either second-degree murder or manslaughter.
They are expected in court later this year.
Both the Crown and the defence agreed that J.S.R. didn't fire the shot that killed Creba.
But under Canadian law, J.S.R. was still able to be convicted of murder because the jury believed he took part in the gunfight.
The Crown is arguing to have the man sentenced as an adult.
If J.S.R. is sentenced as an adult, he will get life in prison for the murder conviction with no parole eligibility for seven years. However, that deadline could be adjusted downward to account for time already served, reported CTV Toronto's Chris Eby.
If he is sentenced as a youth, he will receive a maximum sentence of seven years for the murder conviction. Only four of those years would likely be served in custody.
Bassarath conducted various tests on J.S.R. He deems J.S.R. to be a high risk to reoffend.
Although the number of "behavioural incidents" behind bars has dropped since J.S.R. was first incarcerated on Dec. 26, 2005, Bassarath said, ""I'd be surprised if there were no incidents at all (in a year)."
Although they acknowledged J.S.R. had a history of violent and anti-social behaviour going back to age six, the defence lawyers also pointed to the fact his record has improved in jail.
The sentencing hearing will last all week. Justice Ian Nordheimer hasn't yet indicated when he will actually pass sentence on J.S.R.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Chris Eby and files from The Canadian Press
