Accused in Moncton murder trial testifies he shot teen in self-defence
Riley Phillips testifies in trial on 2nd-degree murder charge
Riley Phillips testified Thursday that he shot Joedin Leger in self-defence after the 18-year-old shot him first and appeared to be reaching for another gun.
"I thought he was going to kill me," Phillips testified, saying he's not certain how many times he fired a .38 calibre revolver he was carrying at Leger.
Phillips, 20, is on trial in Moncton on a charge of second-degree murder. It's alleged he killed Leger on April 25, 2022.
Two Crown witnesses testified Phillips was asked to join five others who planned to rob Leger and his girlfriend at their north-end Moncton home. However, Phillips offered a different version of what led him to Logan Lane that morning.
Phillips was the first witness called by his defence lawyer, Brian Munro.
Phillips testified he had spoken to his cousin, Hunter England, on April 24, 2022, about a dispute England was having with Leger. Early the next morning, Phillips testified he awoke to Hayden Leblanc knocking on his bedroom window at his grandparents house on Ryan Street in Moncton where he lived.
"He asked me if I wanted to go with them to confront Joedin over smashing out Hunter's mom's window and maybe get some money back for it," Phillips testified.
Phillips said he initially didn't want to go but the group returned later and he went with them.
Phillips said Hunter England drove the group which included Leblanc, a 17-year-old who cannot be named, Hunter's brother Jerek England, and Nicholas McAvoy. They parked near Logan Lane and that someone handed him the revolver after stepping out of the car.
Phillips testified he couldn't recall any discussion in the car while en route to Leger's home.
"I never intended to shoot. I went there to talk to him," Phillips testified when his lawyer about his intentions that morning.
Phillips said he, Leblanc, and the 17-year-old and McAvoy walked up to Leger's duplex where Phillips knocked on the front door.
He said he was wearing a helmet so Leger wouldn't see his face, fearing Leger might retaliate by smashing windows at his grandparents' home, but later said the visor was up.
"I shouldn't have worn the helmet," he said. "It was stupid."
After knocking, Phillips testified he saw Leger come to the front door, saw and heard him unlock it and open the door. He said Leger started climbing the stairs to the main level of the house, so he went inside thinking Leger wanted him to come inside.
Phillips testified he was on the stairs inside when he saw Leger reach for a gun on a table in the kitchen area. Phillips said that's when he reached for the revolver he had in his waistband under a sweater.
"He shot me. It felt like my hand had exploded or hit with a hammer," Phillips told the jury, saying he then shot the revolver.
"I was pretty certain I was going to die."
The jury has previously heard that two guns were found in Leger's home after his death. One was a sawed-off shotgun on the kitchen floor, though no shotgun ammunition was found in the home.
The second was a homemade gun that had a .22 calibre casing in the chamber. Medical records entered as evidence show Phillips was treated for a gunshot wound to his right hand. Phillips testified the bullet is still in his hand.
A pathologist testified that Leger was shot between three and five times, and that the fatal shot went through his lungs and partially severed his aorta. That bullet was recovered from Leger's body.
Crown says Phillips's version 'impossible'
Phillips testified that after Leger's first shot, the teen started to grab another gun, so he fired several more times before fleeing.
Crown prosecutor Stephen Holt called that version of events "impossible," based on the sound of the shooting captured on surveillance video.
Holt played that video multiple times, pointing out the first two shots happen almost simultaneously followed rapidly by others.
"There's no time, Mr. Phillips. There's no time. It didn't happen the way you said it," Holt said, finishing his questioning.
Holt earlier questioned Phillips's testimony that his first shot happened as he raised the revolver, hitting Leger in the leg. He pointed out Phillips claimed to be near the bottom of the stairs, while Leger was at the top, meaning he was standing above Phillips.
Holt also questioned the believability of Phillips saying he didn't know Leger, but agreed to go with a group of five to Leger's home to confront him, around 6 a.m., dressed in black and wearing a motorcycle helmet.
"I would suggest you went there to rob him," Holt said.
"I never went there to rob him," Phillips responded.
Defence case closed
Munro, Phillips's defence lawyer, entered several batches of messages and other documents into evidence and then closed his case Thursday afternoon.
The messages included one from Hunter England on April 24, 2022, about his mother's window being smashed and trying to find out who did it. A subsequent message from England that day said he knew who had caused the damage and needed a drive that night.
Last week, a witness testified she allowed her car to be borrowed by the group for what she understood would be a robbery.
Justice Robert Dysart told jurors Thursday that the evidence portion of the case had concluded, asking them to return to court Tuesday.
He said they should expect closing arguments from the lawyers that day, followed on Wednesday by his instructions to them and the start of their deliberations.
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