A one-time co-accused will be the key to identifying “the man behind the mask” who shot and killed a 19-year-old beer-vendor clerk, a judge was told this week.
William Sampson is on trial, charged with second-degree murder for the Feb. 15, 2022 killing of John Lloyd Barrion, who was fatally shot during a late-night robbery at the Canadiana Motor Hotel (Travelodge) beer store on Notre Dame Avenue.
Barrion and his family immigrated to Winnipeg from the Philippines when he was a baby and he dreamed of becoming a chef. He started working at the beer vendor four months before he was killed and had just completed his training and probationary period. Barrion, a Tec Voc High School graduate, shared his earnings with his parents.
Daniel Crump / Free Press Files
Friends of John Lloyd Barrion hold signs during a vigil in his honour on February 19, 2022 at the Travelodge on Notre Dame Ave. The 19-year-old was killed four days earlier while working at the beer vendor attached to hotel.
Sampson, 53, was one of three suspects arrested in the killing. Co-accused Ryan Jeron Smith, 42, pleaded guilty to manslaughter last February and was sentenced to seven years in prison.
A third accused has since been granted immunity from prosecution in return for his testimony.
“Unlike Ryan Smith, (he) did not plead guilty for his involvement,” Crown attorney Breanne James said in an opening address Monday before King’s Bench Justice Joan McKelvey. “Once a party to the offence, now Crown witness … the court will need to turn its mind to … whether there is sufficient corroborative evidence to restore faith in the reliability and truthfulness of his account.”
The robbery and shooting were captured on security video.
James said Barrion was working the late shift when, shortly after 2 a.m., three masked men, one armed with a gun, entered the beer store.
“The gun was thrust under the protective barrier, a demand for cash was made and promptly met by Barrion,” James said.
“And despite taking all that (Barrion) could give, the masked man with the gun took everything else, too,” she said. “As John Barrion stepped away from the counter searching for safety, the masked man fired a single bullet, striking John Barrion in his side.”
Police at the time said Barrion was discovered around 3 a.m. and taken to hospital, where he died.
Under terms of a publication ban imposed Tuesday, the name and testimony of the one-time co-accused cannot be reported until he has finished cross-examination.
“The unveiling of the man behind the mask begins with (him),” James said. “He will tell you about how three men came together in the hours before John Barrion was killed, how everything unfolded at the Travelodge and how things didn’t turn out as he expected.”
Court heard the witness was arrested after police spotted him driving a “vehicle of interest” — a white Hyundai Elantra — that was captured on security video outside the beer vendor at the time of the killing.
Several of Barrion’s family members watched from the court gallery during testimony Tuesday.
People close to Barrion were concerned about him working a graveyard shift, including periods where he was alone, the Free Press reported following the killing.
dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca
Dean Pritchard
Courts reporter
Dean Pritchard is courts reporter for the Free Press. He has covered the justice system since 1999, working for the Brandon Sun and Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 2019. Read more about Dean.
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