The case of a man who was shot dead in front of his 12-year-old son on a Kitchener street was in court Friday, with the gunman pleading guilty to second-degree murder.

Christopher Birch admitted to being the man who shot Brandon Makins last spring, on Greendale Crescent in the Morgan Avenue area of Kitchener.

The two men had never met before, but knew of each other as Birch was dating Makins’ ex-girlfriend, who lived on Greendale.

Makins and the woman had a 12-year-old son together, and the woman’s 17-year-old son considered Makins his father even though they were not biological relatives.

Court documents show that after the two separated, they shared custody amicably for years, until mid-May 2016.

At that point, the mother began making it difficult for Makins to see his son, and informed her 17-year-old son that he and his girlfriend would have to leave her house as of June 1 so that Birch could move in.

It all came to a head on May 27, when the 17 year old and his girlfriend showed up on Greendale to see if the 12 year old wanted to spend time with his father. Makins was not present in person at this point, but was on the phone and did talk to the 12 year old via the 17 year old’s phone.

When the mother realized this was going on, she pulled the child back inside and slammed the door.

According to court documents, the boy then snuck out of the house through a back window and met up with his half-brother on the street.

While the mother started texting Birch about what had happened, the 17-year-old half-brother called police and waited for them to respond. Makins showed up too, and the group watched on as Birch’s car turn onto Greendale and pull into the mother’s driveway.

It came out in court that the mother told Birch she was scared when “they” tried to break into her house – a group that he assumed included Makins, making him angry. He made the 80-metre drive from the driveway to where Makins’ car was parked, and fired three shots through his open driver’s window.

Two of the shots hit Makins, killing him, while a third hit the car. The 17 year old was standing near Makins at the time, while the 12 year old was in the car. The shots, and subsequent screaming, were captured in the 911 call – a recording of which was played in court.

The teen’s girlfriend, neighbours and paramedics tried to resuscitate Makins, but he was pronounced dead in hospital.

Birch drove away immediately after firing the shots, then downloaded a program that let him listen to police communications and searched Google for “breaking news of Kitchener murder.”

The gun was never found. Birch was arrested in Durham the following day on a charge of first-degree murder.

By pleading guilty to second-degree murder, he will still be sentenced to life in prison. The only difference is that his eligibility to apply for parole will be set somewhere between 10 and 25 years, instead of the 25-year ineligibility period that comes automatically with a first-degree murder conviction.

Outside court, defence lawyer Chris Murphy said that his client was taking responsibility “so that the family can put this behind them and start the healing process.”

With reporting by Max Wark