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North Okanagan murder suspect’s trial to begin Monday

Jevon Smith, charged in the death of Dakota Samoleski, had a voir dire hearing Tuesday
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A man identified as Dakota Samoleski was shot and killed in a Spallumcheen shooting Sept. 20, 2021. Jevon Daniel Smith, born in 1975, is charged with second-degree murder and is set to stand trial Feb. 26, 2024. (Morning Star file photo)

The accused in a North Okanagan murder case is set to begin his trial on Monday.

Jevon Smith appeared at the Âé¶¹¾«Ñ¡ Law Courts for a voir dire hearing — or a trial within a trial, details from which cannot be published — on Tuesday, Feb. 20.

The trial by judge and jury in Âé¶¹¾«Ñ¡ Supreme Court is scheduled to begin as planned on Monday, Feb. 26.

Smith, born in 1975, is charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Dakota Samoleksi in Spallumcheen on Sept. 20, 2021.

On the day of Samoleski’s death, police responded to reports of a possible shooting and a vehicle fleeing the area of a Spallumcheen residence around 11:30 a.m. A search for the suspect’s vehicle led police to a body on Back Enderby Road.

Smith was arrested in Armstrong later that day with help from the Southeast District Emergency Response Team.

Samoleski and Smith are believed to have been known to one another.

In April 2022, Smith waived his right to a preliminary inquiry and the trial date was set.

The charge against Smith has yet to be proven in court.

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Brendan Shykora

About the Author: Brendan Shykora

I started at the Morning Star as a newspaper carrier at the age of 8. I went on to pursue a Master of Journalism at Carleton University and have been a journalist in Vernon since 2019.
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