Last April, Jaime Orellana said goodbye to his friends, four younger siblings and mom. He left his home in St. Catharines, Ontario, and moved west to Calgary in search of a better life.
In Alberta, the hard-working 30-year-old settled into a house in Winston Heights with a close friend, got a job as a carpenter and pursued his passion of making music under the stage name Acres.
“He moved out to Calgary to get away from violence and street stuff that was going on in this city (St. Catharines),” said close friend Mattia Di Simone, who met Orellana more than two decades ago.
“He moved out to work and better himself and then he ends up getting in an argument with a neighbour and (killed).”
Orellana was fatally shot on Sunday afternoon, in the first of three shootings in less than 12 hours on city streets.
The three violent incidents, which police do not believe are related, have left two men dead, one man critically injured, and prompted police to say they’re deeply concerned about gun violence in the city.
Orellana, who’s full name was Jaimend Roberto Orellana-Sincuir, was wounded outside of the duplex home he shared with a friend in the 400 block of 26th Avenue N.E. following a confrontation with a man who frequented Orellana’s neighbour’s home around 2 p.m. Sunday.
“We’re not sure what the motive is on this one. All we know is it was as the result of a verbal argument that escalated,” said police spokesman Kevin Brookwell.
Orellana’s younger sister said her brother was shot after he asked a man, who didn’t live next door but often visited Orellana’s neighbour’s home and was known to Orellana, to keep it down.
Police officers and emergency crews were called to the scene after neighbours reported hearing gun shots and seeing a suspect run by.
A man was arrested in a nearby field following the shooting and he has been charged with first-degree murder and identified by police as Alan Devon Bird, 20, of Calgary.
Born in Guatemala, Orellana moved to St. Catharines with his teenage mom when he was a baby.
He was the oldest of five children and friends said the creative, gentle man served as the “glue that held his family together.”
“He helped raise all of his brothers and sisters,” said Di Simone.
“We all grew up in low income housing together. We were shown a lot of things early in life and there was a lot of bad decisions that could have been made. (Orellana) was always the guy who had his head on straight … making sure no one is making bad decisions.”
Orellana’s 26-year-old sister Mayra Orellana said after her father died in 1997, her older brother served as a father figure for her and her siblings.
“He let us know he was going (to Calgary) to be able to give us a better life, especially my mom and maybe in the future be able to help her out financially,” she said.
“Everything he did was always with the best intentions for (his family) … It seems like the life he was fleeing here followed him over there.”
Orellana said her family is devastated by her brother’s sudden death and they’re working to raise funds to bring his body home to Ontario for a funeral.
“He was just so well-respected. He was the person you would go to for the wise words, for the encouragement. When you were down, he could pick you right back up,” she said.
Carson Johnson met Orellana a few years ago after moving to St. Catharines and he marvelled at how quickly Orellana was to include him in anything he was doing.
“He was a genuinely amazing person,” Johnson said.
“You’re lucky to find a friend like that once in your life.”
The pair bonded over a passion for music and spent hours at each others homes, mixing beats together.
Orellana was a creative soul, who excelled at drawing and produced countless tunes under the name Acres, a moniker he’d chosen because he liked how the combination of letters looked when drawn in a graffiti style, and because he felt the word was key to his life.
“He referred to himself as a warrior,” Johnson said.
“He said in his life he felt like he was moving acres at a time.”
Both Di Simone and Johnson are reeling from the loss of their friend, who they described as loyal, loving and not violent.
“It would take people two lifetimes to fulfil the impact he had on people. He just touched them,” Johnson said.
Di Simone said Orellana cared deeply about his family and friends back home, even after he moved west in search of a better life.
“He was the kind of guy you could go to with your problems and he would always have something that could uplift you, or motivate you to do better, or try to make a change. He would let you know that anything is possible,” Di Simone said.
The accused is scheduled to next appear in court on March 6.
Jaime Orellana killed in Winston Heights
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