A man accused of shooting another man to death last year in the parking lot of Maple Ridge mall will be tried for murder.
Edward Marke Antonsen, 29, was ordered to stand trial Thursday at the conclusion of a preliminary inquiry in Port Coquitlam Provincial Court.
The formal purpose of a preliminary inquiry is to determine if the Crown has enough evidence to justify a trial.
Antonsen is accused of shooting Claude Gille Deguire, 26, at close range in front of Thrifty Foods at Haney Place Mall on April 29.
Police revealed that Antonsen and Deguire were “acquaintances” and that the shooting was part of a dispute over “territory” or “turf” in the street-level drug trade.
Police would not confirm whether Deguire was once associated with the United Nations gang, but believe his death was not connected a spate of gun violence in Metro Vancouver in 2013.
Following the shooting, downtown residents claimed street-level drug dealing was rampant in the area, especially south of Lougheed Highway.
A witness said Deguire was in a fight with other men before he was shot.
Six guys were ganging up on this one guy, said one witness, then someone pulled a gun and he ran across the highway.