A passenger in the car involved in a drive-by shooting in Sooke in June 2016 told a trial that he has little memory of what happened that day.
Dustin David Brown, 23, who was initially charged with two counts of attempted murder in the case, testified that he had been drinking and taking ketamine and cocaine before the Ella Road shooting on June 14, 2016.
“Ketamine … makes me all numb and I can’t talk. I don’t know what’s going on. I’m a space case, really,” said Brown, who was testifying as a Crown witness at Josh Lafleur’s trial in B.C. Supreme Court. “When I take cocaine and ketamine together, I get pretty messed up.”
Lafleur was arrested on June 19, 2016, after a five-day manhunt that shut down Thetis Lake Regional Park and prompted several nearby elementary schools to lock their doors and keep students inside.
He is charged with the aggravated assault of Travis Twinn, who was shot in the abdomen, assault causing bodily harm to Gordon Thomas, who was shot in the arm, and discharging a restricted firearm with intent to endanger the lives of Twinn and Thomas.
Lafleur is also charged with being in a car with a restricted firearm, possessing a restricted Glock semi-automatic pistol and a prohibited .380 automatic Colt pistol without a licence or registration, and possession of cocaine, MDMA, marijuana and psilocybin for the purpose of trafficking.
The charges against Brown were stayed by the Crown in February 2017 during a preliminary inquiry.
Lafleur’s co-accused, Damien Medwedrich, pleaded guilty and was sentenced last year.
In June 2016, Brown was selling “a bit of drugs” and hanging out with Lafleur and Medwedrich. Brown, a slim red-haired man with a red beard, said he got into a car with them but doesn’t remember where they went.
“I remember something about a fight. I remember I was going to a fight and I was going to get my ass kicked because there were five guys there,” he said.
“Do you remember why there might be a fight or who might be involved?” asked prosecutor Clare Jennings.
“No, not really,” Brown replied.
He didn’t recognize any of the five men standing outside a car at the bottom of Ella Road, said Brown. He didn’t remember any interaction between the people in his car and the five men.
“We drove around a little and turned around. … After we turned around, I just remember driving. That’s all I remember.”
Brown told defence lawyer Robert Claus that during that time he was drinking a 15 pack of beer and a 12- or 26-ounce bottle of hard liquor every day.
Thomas, who was shot in the arm that night, also had little memory of what happened that night. On the stand earlier this week, Thomas testified that he didn’t know Lafleur, Medwedrich or Brown.
Although he drove the car to Ella Road with Twinn and three others in the car, Thomas testified that he didn’t remember anything except being injured.
A bullet went through his bicep and tricep. His arm was bandaged and he was given medication for the pain.
Thomas testified that he doesn’t remember seeing a gun and doesn’t know who shot him.
On Thursday, Twinn testified that he was shot in the chest by the driver.
However, admissions of fact by Lafleur, which were read into the court record, reveal that Twinn was significantly injured by a bullet wound to his abdomen that entered his left flank and exited his right chest wall.
They also reveal that police found seven fired cartridges and one fired bullet on Ella Road.
