Kacey Rogers was at home in Surrey with his girlfriend on the evening of Feb. 26. 2012 when he heard loud noises outside. He ran from his bedroom and looked out the kitchen window, and that's when the 31-year-old was shot in the head and killed.
That was theory put forth by Crown prosecutors on the first day of the trial of accused killer Russell Atma Bidesi.
The trial began Monday in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster, where Bidesi is facing a second-degree murder charge in connection to Rogers' death.
Bidesi, 24, a dark-skinned man with a moustache, short black hair and wearing red prison garb, pleaded not guilty.
The Crown contends Bidesi and two other men, Fabien Lyde and Joshua Martinez, went to Rogers' duplex on Grosvenor Road near 140 Street intending to commit a home invasion and robbery.
It's alleged Bidesi fired four shotgun rounds into the main front doorway, at which time Rogers appeared at the front kitchen window to see what was going on. He was immediately shot.
The trio of assailants, each carrying a firearm, then entered the home, the Crown claims, confronted Rogers' girlfriend and demanded to know where money was. They took the cash and fled.
Prosecutors say they intend to show Bidesi was the perpetrator armed with the pump-action shotgun that killed Rogers. There was no mention of a possible motive in court Monday.
Evidence seized from Martinez's apartment in New Westminster, including sawed-off shot guns, a handgun, several pairs of black gloves, and black "neck warmers" with hoods was presented in court.
The Crown says it will also present surveillance video from Martinez's apartment building, the New Westminster SkyTrain station, and two Surrey Walmart locations where black gloves and hoods were allegedly purchased.
A handful of Rogers' friends and family members, including his brother and mother, who wept throughout the court proceeding, attended the trial Monday. They declined to speak to The Leader.
Lyde, 20, has already pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection to Rogers' death and was sentenced in June 2013 to six years jail.
Martinez, 22, was initially charged with second-degree murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in September and is scheduled to be sentenced this November.
Bidesi's trial continues next week.
He is also charged with second-degree murder in connection with the Christmas Eve 2011 shooting of Bradley McPherson at a Surrey house party. That trial has yet to be scheduled.