EDMONTON -
A person on trial for killing two Métis hunters testified he minimize up his gun, threw it in a dump and lied to police about his involvement within the capturing out of worry of going to jail for safeguarding himself and his household.
Anthony Bilodeau, 33, has pleaded not responsible to 2 counts of second-degree homicide within the deaths of Jacob Sansom, 39, and Maurice Cardinal, 57, northeast of Edmonton.
Bilodeau's father, Roger Bilodeau, has additionally pleaded not responsible to the identical expenses.
A jury has heard that Sansom was shot as soon as within the chest and Cardinal was shot thrice in his shoulder. Their our bodies had been discovered the following day on the aspect of a rural street close to Glendon, Alta.
Crown prosecutors have argued that the killings had been under no circumstances justified. They stated safety footage exhibits Anthony Bilodeau shot Sansom inside 26 seconds of arriving on the scene, then shot Cardinal because the hunter was strolling away.
The trial has heard a recorded interview between an RCMP officer and Anthony Bilodeau on March 31, 2020 — 4 days after the capturing.
Within the recording, Bilodeau tells Sgt. Christian Reister that he didn't shoot the hunters and did not know something about their deaths.
Brian Beresh, Bilodeau's lawyer, requested him Wednesday why he lied to police and removed the gun.
"I used to be afraid. I didn’t know the legal guidelines of self-defence," Bilodeau stated.
"I used to be afraid of going to jail for safeguarding my household."
Bilodeau testified that he had been exhausted, working as a heavy-duty mechanic and waking up most nights for nearly a month to assist with calving at his farm.
He stated he obtained a name from his father and youthful brother, Joseph Bilodeau, the night time of March 27, 2020. They stated they had been following a pickup truck that had stopped on the mouth of the driveway to their property earlier than dashing off.
Joseph Bilodeau, who's now 18 and was not charged within the case, testified final week that he had additionally seen a blue Chevrolet pickup on his mother and father’ farm earlier within the day and suspected the one they had been following, a white Dodge truck, had one thing to do with it.
Anthony Bilodeau, who lived close by, stated he was requested to deliver a gun for cover and meet up with his father and brother. However he stated he had no intention of utilizing the gun.
Bilodeau stated his father instructed him over the telephone: "We caught them, you gotta recover from right here."
He testified that he requested his father what he was speaking about. “That’s when (Roger Bilodeau) stated, ‘We caught the thieves, they got here again. You gotta recover from right here.’”
Bilodeau and his youthful brother have each testified that there had been a rise in thefts within the Glendon space, although their properties had not been hit.
He instructed the trial, nonetheless, that $15,000 price of instruments had been stolen from his father's truck restore store a pair years earlier than and police did not reply. Bilodeau stated he went to the police station to report the theft.
Bilodeau testified that earlier than getting in his truck to satisfy his father and brother, he obtained a gun and a few ammunition from his secure.
"I believed these guys had been armed, that that they had weapons and had been going to make use of them," Bilodeau stated.
Bilodeau stated he was nonetheless on the road together with his father and brother when their truck pulled up subsequent to the pickup they had been following.
He stated he heard his father ask the individuals within the different truck what they had been doing in his yard. Then there have been a number of pounding sounds and the crack of a window.
Court docket has heard that one of many hunters allegedly punched and broke the passenger window of the Roger Bilodeau's Ford F-150.
“At that time, I knew I needed to get there as a result of I knew they had been in hassle and I had to assist,” Anthony Bilodeau testified.
He stated he heard his youthful brother scream at somebody to get off him and to depart him alone. Bilodeau stated he then heard somebody inform another person to seize a knife to kill them.
Bilodeau stated he started to fret that he wouldn't make it in time to save lots of his father and brother. "I used to be devastated ... I used to be wiping tears on the way in which there."
When he pulled as much as the place his father’s car was stopped beside a Dodge pickup, Bilodeau stated he noticed a person choking his father.
He stated he loaded his gun, obtained out and stated, "Hey, that is sufficient."
Bilodeau stated the person choking his father charged towards him whereas shouting at one other man to seize a gun so they may kill him.
He stated he shot that man whereas the opposite was additionally coming at him with “a really massive firearm,” which he held throughout his chest.
Bilodeau stated his gun was jammed, so he ran right into a ditch earlier than he may unjam it and shoot the second man, who was then pointing a gun at him.
Bilodeau stated he shot him twice extra after the person repeated that he was going to kill him.
Bilodeau stated he and his father and brother then went dwelling.
The trial is anticipated to proceed Thursday with cross-examination of Bilodeau by Crown prosecutors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Might 25, 2022.
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