Accused of second-degree murder of two Métis hunters, Anthony Bilodeau testified at his trial that he did not intend to use his weapon, which he carried “as a precaution”.
Roger and Anthony Bilodeau pleaded not guilty to second -degree murder charges following the deaths of Jake Sansom and his uncle Maurice Cardinal. Two Métis hunters died of bullet wounds after a clash with Roger and Anthony Bilodeau near Glendon, northeast of Edmonton on March 27, 2020. The trial of the father and son has been ongoing since May 16 in Edmonton.
The testimony
Anthony Bilodeau said he received a call from his father saying: We caught them, you have to come along. According to him, trace in his voice the concern and concernhis tone was translated an emergency.
[Mon père] said, “I don’t know if these men are armed, but bring a gun, just in case.”and Anthony Bilodeau.
Anthony Bilodeau has revealed on several occasions that he has had no intention use the weapon and that’s up to him as a precaution.
Anthony Bilodeau’s brother Joseph, who was with his father, said, still on the phone, that the vehicle they were following had stopped. According to Anthony Bilodeau, his father Roger Bilodeau calmly asked the people on board what they were doing on his land.
Anthony Bilodeau then heard on the phone a voice he did not know saying in a tone that he qualified as furious: Get a knife so we can kill them rude ones!
Anthony Bilodeau said that when he arrived at the scene, he saw a man strangling his father. However, he could not see his brother, he added.
I was afraid I might not be able to see where Joseph was. I can’t see the passenger side of the truckhe continued.
Anthony Bilodeau said he hasn’t been there yet terrified of his life. Everything was so fast, I would never have had time to call the policeHe added.
That’s when I loaded my gun as far as I could, he said, reiterating that he had no intention of using the weapon. He said he then approached the vehicle with his weapon pointed on the ground.
Anthony Bilodeau told the Court that at that time another passenger got out of the vehicle and was carrying a weapon and he had not yet seen it. very good weapon of his life.
Anthony Bilodeau’s attorney, Brian Beresh, showed a rifle approximately 1 meter in Court.
Anthony Bilodeau said he wanted to calm the situation down, but the two victims did not seem ready to talk yet.
I thought I was going to die because I had more, I had nowhere to gohe confessed, and added that one of the men had repeated several times that he would kill him.
” I thought there was no doubt that he would shoot me […] and then I fired. “
He pointed out that when firing a gun, which he used occasionally for six years for hunting, the bullets could go in any direction.
He also said he cut off the murder weapon and lied to police about the sequence of events because he is afraid of incarceration for protecting his familyhe said several times.
Anthony Bilodeau was then questioned by Shawn Gerstel, the lawyer of his father Roger Bilodeau. The latter mainly returned to their call.
Anthony Bilodeau recalled on several occasions that his father did not ask him to load the weapon, did not suggest that he get out of the vehicle, did not indicate that there might be a confrontation, that they were going to attack someone and did not ask. him to frighten them.
According to Anthony Bilodeau, they had not yet decided whether they would use the weapon.
According to him, when he got there his worries really changed.
The trial is scheduled to continue Thursday beginning at 9:30 am
Worried about crime
Anthony Bilodeau also said there was crime in the farming community in Glendon always remember.
According to him, some people were beaten and robbed of their land, even in the middle of the day.
His level of concern rose in March 2020, when things went began to worsen againhe said.
He said his father’s business, where he works, was robbed in 2019 and the police were not never come once.
The trial
The trial of the two defendants by the jury began on May 16 at the declaration of Crown prosecutor, Jeff Rudiak.
According to him, there is no reason for the father and son to fight and there is no good defense.
Defense attorney Sean Gerstel, meanwhile, said the defendants acted in self -defense.
The jury has been reduced to 11 members, as 3 jurors and the court official are ill. At least 10 jurors are required to avoid a false trial.
Source: Radio-Canada
