A handgun submitted into evidence at the trial of two people accused in the 2022 fatal shooting of an OPP officer was trafficked from the United States into Canada earlier that year, an Ontario court heard Friday.
Ontario Provincial Police Const. Grzegorz Pierzchala was shot on Dec. 27, 2022, while responding to a vehicle in the ditch west of Hagersville, Ont., near Brantford.
Randall McKenzie and Brandi Stewart-Sperry were each charged with first-degree murder and both have pleaded not guilty.
An agreed statement of fact prosecutors read to a jury trial Friday said the Glock 19 handgun submitted into evidence in the case was purchased in Arizona on June 1, 2022.
"At some point after June 1, 2022, the Glock 19 was illegally trafficked into Canada," the statement read.
The Crown has said it is looking to prove that McKenzie was the shooter and that Stewart-Sperry intentionally helped him.
Prosecutors had said in their opening statement that Pierzchala's body camera footage shows the shooter's hand concealed in the front pocket of a sweater, before the officer was shot six times.
The trial heard earlier on Friday that a hoodie collected from McKenzie had gunshot residue in its front pocket.
Benjamin Lee, a forensic scientist, testified that 13 gunshot particles were identified inside the front pocket of an Adidas hoodie that was submitted into evidence.
The defence asked Lee if it's possible that gunshot residue could be transferred between surfaces, and Lee said he couldn't eliminate that possibility.
Jennifer Plath, another forensic scientist, also took the stand Friday and testified about examining bullets in the case. Plath said she could "neither identify nor eliminate" the bullets as having been fired by the Glock 19 handgun due to limited markers.
Another agreed statement of fact read in court earlier this week detailed photos, videos and text messages discovered on a cellphone belonging to McKenzie, including a video of a man driving a car with a handgun in his hand on Dec. 14.
"It is specifically agreed that Randall McKenzie is the individual in the video," the statement read.
The trial has heard from multiple witnesses so far, including some who had stopped at the side of the road after spotting the car in the ditch, law enforcement officials involved in the investigation and relatives of McKenzie who testified they had seen the accused pair the afternoon of the alleged murder.
The jury trial is taking place in Cayuga, Ont., a community near Hagersville, with testimony expected to continue on Tuesday.
Pierzchala was born in Toronto and grew up in Barrie, attending St. Joan of Arc Catholic High School.
Last September, the City of Barrie renamed Batteaux Park in memory of the slain officer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 11, 2025.
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