Police promised witness protection for identifying shooter in Windsor murder: former co-accused testimony

Windsor police are investigating after a shooting at Ouellette and University in Windsor, Ont., on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Stefanie Masotti / CTV Windsor)

After walking back on her original story, a witness in a murder trial relating to a downtown shooting five years ago returned to the stand saying she thought she would be offered ‘a deal’ to identify the accused.

Keima Davis-Baynes testified in Superior Court Monday in the ongoing murder trial of Kahli Johnson-Phillips, 27, of Brampton.

He’s charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder in the shooting that killed Jason Pantlitz-Solomon and injured his girlfriend.

In a police statement on July 10, 2019, Davis-Baynes told Windsor police one of the two shooters was Johnson-Phillips.

At trial last week, more than four years later, Davis-Baynes recanted.

“It was all a lie,” she testified and then identified the shooter as someone named ‘George’ — although she did not know his last name or his whereabouts.

On Monday, Davis-Baynes told the jury she thought she was going to be offered "a deal" from Windsor police in exchange for her identification of Johnson-Phillips.

“The deal was they would put me in witness protection and drop all the charges against me,” Davis-Baynes said in testimony that was at times emotional.

In June 2019, Davis-Baynes was charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder.

According to the Crown, in a separate court proceeding, a judge ruled there was insufficient evidence on those charges, but Davis-Bayne will stand trial for accessory after the fact of murder at a later date.

On the stand Monday, Davis-Baynes told the jury, at the time of the July 2019 statement, she thought the police would protect her and her unborn baby if she gave them the name “they wanted.”

Assistant Crown attorney Bryan Pilon questioned why police would want to arrest and charge an innocent man and why they would consider offering a “known liar” protection.

Davis-Baynes said she didn’t know but that was the impression she was under.

Johnson-Phillips' defence lawyer Michael Moon went one step further.

“Your lawyer lied to you,” Moon said to Davis-Baynes. “It was your lawyer who betrayed you (by lying about an alleged deal with Windsor police).”

Court heard Davis-Baynes had two criminal defence lawyers in recent years and it’s not clear which lawyer Moon was referencing.

Moon alleges one of those lawyers also happened to be representing the brother of the victim, Jerome Pantlitz-Solomon at the time he was retained by Davis-Baynes.

At a subsequent court hearing, Moon says that lawyer recused himself from representing Davis-Baynes because of the conflict of interest.

Regardless, Pilon further noted, Davis-Baynes has known there was no deal for more than two years and has had multiple opportunities – under oath, in court — to tell the truth.

He also noted Davis-Baynes had four other interviews with police after the 2018 shooting. All lasted a little more than an hour.

The interview when she identified Johnson-Phillips lasted for more than six hours.

“Sometimes the truth takes a lot longer (to explain),” Pilon said to Davis-Baynes. “By July 10 (2019) you realized you had no way out. You realized only the truth can save you now.”

Davis-Baynes continued to maintain the July 10 interview was all a lie.

“Was it wrong, yes!” Davis-Baynes exclaimed Monday through tears. “But I did not want to lose my child.”

Davis-Baynes will continue to be questioned Tuesday.