A man and teenaged boy charged with first-degree murder in a Dartmouth stabbing made their first court appearance on Monday.

Trevor Hannan, 23, of Dartmouth covered his head as he left the courtroom.

Hannan is accused of murdering 28-year-old Daniel Pellerin. A 15-year-old boy is also charged with first-degree murder in the case.

“The charge involves planning, involves premeditation, so in this case, I can tell you it was not a random incident,” says Halifax Regional Police Const. Pierre Bourdages.

Officers responded to a parking lot on Windmill Road shortly after 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 29 after witnesses spotted two males assaulting another male.

When police arrived on scene they found a man unconscious, suffering from stab wounds. Pellerin was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police arrested the teen on Thursday. Police say he was in possession of a loaded handgun and some marijuana at the time of his arrest and is facing a slew of weapons charges in addition to the murder charge.

The teen has been convicted of 16 crimes over the last few years but Crown attorney Jamie Van Wart says the murder charge is the most concerning.

“It’s a first-degree murder charge, which is a terrible offence, and it’s shocking to see that it’s a young person involved in this type of offence,” says Van Wart.

Hannan is also known to police; he was once convicted of shooting his own brother in the stomach. He pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and careless use of a firearm after being charged with attempted murder in 2011.

In an unrelated case, Hannan’s other brother, David, was killed in 2006. He was found unconscious and covered in blood behind the Harbour View School in Dartmouth. The 21-year-old died in hospital two days later.

“At this time, it’s an unsolved homicide,” says Bourdages. “There has been tips and leads throughout the years but nothing that led us to believe or identify a suspect at this time.”

Pellerin’s death is the fifth murder in the Halifax area so far this year.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Kayla Hounsell