The accused in a North Okanagan murder case is set to begin his trial on Monday.
Jevon Smith appeared at the Kelowna 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 Kelowna 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.
READ MORE: Direct to trial for North Okanagan murder case
READ MORE: North Okanagan murder suspect skips preliminary inquiry, will go straight to trial
