Tim Bosma trial: Accused Mark Smich kept gun in toolbox, friend testifies
Brendan Daly says Smich talked to him about getting rid of a gun
Mark Smich was keeping a gun in a toolbox at his mother's home and got a friend to move it after Dellen Millard's arrest, court heard Tuesday at the Tim Bosma murder trial.
Brendan Daly testified to a packed courtroom that his friend Smich became anxious and jumpy in May 2013 around the time Millard was arrested in connection with the death of Bosma, who vanished on May 6, 2013, after taking two men on a test drive in a truck he was trying to sell.
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Smich, 28, of Oakville, Ont., and Dellen Millard, 30, of Toronto, are on trial in Ontario Superior Court in Hamilton accused of killing Bosma, who lived in the suburban Ancaster area of Hamilton. Both have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.
Daly, 23, told the jury that in May 2013, he and Smich were best friends who would get together daily, hang out and smoke pot that Smich was selling him.
After Millard was arrested on May 10, Smich's demeanour changed, Daly testified. He became "nervous and jumpy," he said. "Just on edge, anxious, looking over his shoulder."
'He was just trying to lay low there'
Not long after, Smich's Facebook page was deactivated, and the two phones he had been using were turned off, Daly said. He said Smich was only contacting him through his girlfriend's phone. He also said Smich moved out of his mother's home and into his girlfriend's sister's home. He would also sometimes use Daly's phone, but always in private before giving it back with any trace of him having used it erased, court heard.
"I think he was just trying to lay low there, avoid being seen by anybody," Daly said. "I think that he said that people were looking for him."
Assistant Crown attorney Brett Moodie asked Daly about a toolbox that was seized during the homicide investigation in which a gunshot residue particle was found.
There was a gun in the toolbox, Daly testified Smich told him.
"He told me that he got Arthur to move it and he wished he could have gotten a hold of me so I could move it," Daly said.
"He said that Arthur told his mom and that he was worried about Arthur's mom knowing ... what he had done, what was in it, I'm not really sure."
"Arthur" was later identified as another friend of Smich's. It is not clear if he is being called as a witness.
Smich described as 'defensive'
The prosecutor also asked Daly if he ever asked Smich about the Bosma investigation.
"I just asked what was going on, and he got mad and just said he wasn't there and he wasn't involved," Daly said. "I guess defensive would be a better word."
He told the court that during that conversation, Smich made him feel nervous and intimidated.
Daly said that in another conversation, Smich told him "These n-----s are coming to get me, I f--ked up man, I f--ked up man."
The two also talked about how Smich might get rid of the gun, Daly said.
He testified that he told Smich he could dress like a city worker and go out and bury the gun somewhere. In its opening address, the Crown said Smich told his girlfriend that the gun was buried.
One day (which wasn't specified in his testimony), news crews showed up at Smich's house, Daly said.
"That was probably what triggered him asking me to get rid of it. I think his sister was telling him to get rid of anything he had," Daly said.
Daly attempted to broker a deal where a friend of his, nicknamed "Bleach," would buy the gun, but that didn't happen.
"I just knew that Bleach didn't have nearly enough money," Daly said. "[Smich] wanted a thousand bucks or so and my friend only had about a hundred."
In cross-examination, Millard's lawyer Ravin Pillay asked Daly if the period he spent hanging around Smich was a bit of a "rough patch" for him. "It seems like you've kind of cleaned up a bit now?" Pillay asked. "Yes 100 per cent," the witness answered.
When police first interviewed Daly, he didn't tell them everything he knew, court heard. It was after consulting a lawyer and giving a second statement that he revealed more details about the gun.
"You didn't want to be a snitch, right? You didn't want to rat Mark out? You wanted to protect Mark?" Pillay said, to which Daly responded, "Yes, to an extent."
No weapon ever found
No weapon was found during the investigation, and Smich's defence spent Tuesday morning using that in an attempt to undermine the evidence of firearms expert Jennnifer Plath.
Plath returned to the witness box Tuesday to continue her testimony about photos of guns recovered from electronic devices at the homes of Millard and Smich.
Plath examined those photos (one of which had a fingerprint that was matched to Millard) and compared them to a Walther PPK handgun.
Court has heard that gun, which was popularized in the James Bond film franchise, was able to fire the .380 shell casing that investigators found inside Bosma's truck.
Thomas Dungey spent much of his cross-examination talking about a photo that was recovered from an iPad at Smich's residence that shows a man holding up a gun with two fingers with his face obscured.
Referencing the writing on the gun, Dungey said: "Without the font, it's complete speculation what that photo is about ... you wouldn't know if it's a toy gun or a replica."
Plath responded the gun in the photo "couldn't be excluded" as a Walther PPK, but could also be a pellet gun or another gun.
"You have no indication that that image is of a workable gun?" Dungey asked. "That's correct," Plath responded.
Dungey also asked Plath if she had been given instruction on how to make comparisons from photos in courses she had taken. She said she had not.
"Typically, we examine physical objects," she said. "I don't know of any specific training there is in that."
CBC reporter Adam Carter is in the courtroom each day reporting live on the trial. You can view a recap of his live blog here: