Final arguments were made Wednesday in the trial for a man accused of fatally shooting a Calgary Stampeder, with the defence lawyer arguing for an acquittal based on what he describes as unreliable eyewitnesses.

On the other side, prosecutor Gord Haight argued that when all of the evidence is considered, "the Crown has proven this case beyond a reasonable doubt," and said the judge should find Nelson Lugela guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Mylan Hicks, 23.

Lugela's second-degree murder trial took place in December but was put over to January so lawyers could prepare their closing submissions.

Hicks, who left his family in Detroit to play football in Calgary, was shot and killed outside the Marquee Nightclub in 2016. His mother, Renee Hill, attended every day of the trial and has said she would return for the verdict.

On Sept. 24, 2016, about 20 other Stamps players had been at the bar celebrating a big win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Earlier in the night, tensions escalated when a group of friends, including Lugela, had become angry with some of the players while inside the bar.

The two groups traded heated comments near the bar but ended up doing shots together. All of the witnesses have said Hicks was never involved in the altercation and in fact, was nowhere near the argument.

Later in the night Hicks was fatally shot outside the bar.

CCTV footage shown during the trial appears to show a man with a gun, who a witness identified as Nelson Lugela. (Court exhibit)

On Wednesday defence lawyer Alain Hepner made two key arguments. First, he submitted that Lugela should be acquitted because the evidence identifying his client as the shooter was weak.

"This is a case that really identifies the problems and frailties of eye witnesses," Hepner said.

He told the judge that particular evidence "would not give you a good basis on which to ground a conviction."

Hepner's only witness testified that the shooter was a man taller than Lugela and that should cause Justice Keith Yamuchi to have a reasonable doubt as to the accused's guilt.

If the judge agrees with the Crown that the shooter was Lugela, Hepner argued his client's level of intoxication should reduce the level of moral culpability and the accused killer should instead be found guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter.

Prosecutor Gord Haight argued there was ample evidence proving Lugela was the shooter, even beyond the eyewitnesses, including video of a man dressed the same as Lugela was that night, holding what appears to be a gun.

"If it's not that gun, it's one heck of a coincidence," Haight said. "This is not a case which rises or falls solely on evidence of the eyewitnesses."

If the judge were to consider the intoxication defence, Haight argued that the shooter hit his intended target twice and showed an awareness of the consequences of his actions when he told his friend he believed the victim was going to die.

"It would take an extremely advanced level of intoxication to raise a doubt … about the intent required for murder," the prosecutor said.

'Mylan's been hit'

When the club closed around 2 a.m., people filtered out into the parking lot where witnesses have said Lugela and his friends instigated another argument that escalated from words to shoving.

Witnesses described hearing glass break, then gunshots. Then, they said, one of the players yelled out, "Mylan's been hit. Mylan's been hit."

One of the witnesses, who was called by prosecutors Haight and Tom Sparks, was one of the men who was with Lugela that night. Darwin Concepcion testified the accused had confessed to pulling the trigger after the trio drove away from the scene.

Concepcion said he noticed the gun in Lugela's hand as they fled in an SUV. He said the accused killer told him he'd hit someone with two shots and didn't think his victim would "make it."

About 45 minutes after the shooting, police arrested three people on Macleod Trail.

Defence lawyer Alain Hepner did not have his client testify in his own defence but did call a witness who testified that someone taller than Lugela pulled the trigger in the fatal shooting.

Court of Queen's Bench Justice Keith Yamauchi will deliver his decision in March.