How did Drew Merasty go from roofer to Saskatoon's 10th homicide victim of 2019?

Family confirm that 25-year-old Drew Merasty was the man fatally shot Aug. 18 in Saskatoon, a homicide that comes with the now-familiar elements of guns, gangs and crystal meth.

"He was affiliated with Terror Squad," said his cousin, Stephen Merasty. "He was a good kid, just lost in the game of meth."

Stephen Merasty is a former gang member whose younger brother, David, was murdered in Saskatoon in 2016.

Stephen saw his cousin Drew a week before his death.

Police are not saying much about the homicide, the tenth in the city this year and the sixth in Pleasant Hill.

Officers were called to 20th Street and Avenue S S. at about 10 a.m. CST on Aug. 18, according to a news release. They discovered Drew grievously injured on the street. He died in hospital.

Stephen said his cousin was a "plug," which he characterized as a street-level dealer. He suspects that the shooting is related to the gang and to his dealing.

'A happy-go-lucky guy'

Drew's Facebook page is full of photos of the young man posturing in gang gear, wearing a bandana and chains, but they're not all like that.

Go back far enough, and there are pictures of a smiling man working on a variety of roofs with a construction crew. This is the Drew Merasty that Andrew Prebushcwski remembers.

Prebushcwski is foreman on a roofing crew. A year ago, he worked with Drew on a roofing project at a chemical plant in Biggar. 

They spent the summer together.

"He was always a happy-go-lucky guy. Hard working. When he was on work, he was working, and not a complaint," he said.

Prebushcwski said that Merasty did not hide his involvement in a gang.

"We were just talking one day and he brought it up and he did say that he was involved in gangs, and knew gang members. You run into it lots in the trade, in roofing and construction, you run into people who are involved in that or know people," he said.

'This guy's going to be in trouble'

Chester Kinequon said he remembers watching his nephew Drew becoming more distant and secretive as he moved through his teens and into his 20s.

He said that Drew's dad had helped get him into roofing. He said Drew was always willing to lend a helping hand but that, as he got older, he saw him growing more distant. Kinequon knew about the drugs and the gangs.

"I knew that, man, this guy's going to be in trouble if he doesn't turn around," he said.

"It was kind of in the back of my mind that he was going to, that something bad was going to happen, something really bad was going to happen."

Drew's funeral was this past weekend in Prince Albert. Chester Kinequon said his family is still trying to deal with what happened.

"Every gang member has a family. Every gang member has someone that loves them and hopes that they will get out of the gangs," he said.

"They wish the best for them."