First shot came from arson victim's home, jury hears

A friend ofGrand Manan resident Ronald Ross,whosehome was shot up and burned to the ground last July, testified Wednesday that the first shot of the riot was fired fromRoss's ownhome.

Five men are on trial in St. Andrewscharged withcrimes connected with the July 22 brawl, including arson and assault.

Defence lawyer David Lutz has suggested Ross was a crack dealer on the Bay of Fundy island, and the men were acting in self defence.

Ross, who denies selling drugs from his home, had a group of friends over the night of the attack on his Cedar Street home.

Several of Ross's houseguests testified at the trial on Wednesday, including Stephen Flagg, who said a Saint John man named Terry Irvine fired the first shot of the night from Ross's house.

Witnesses had previously testified that shots were fired from the home of one of the accused,Carter Foster, and intestimony on Tuesday, Ross himself said that a group of men atFoster's home fired first.

Ross also said henever threatened anyone, and even though he admitted to firing his .30-30 rifle in the air, he did not aim it into the crowd of people outside his home.

On Wednesday, Ross's friends told the court that everyone on Grand Manan knew that if you wanted crack cocaine, you could get it from Ronald Ross, even though they insisted that he wasn't a dealer.

They said Terry Irvine often brought the drug from Saint John to sell on the island.

Irvine, who owns a Yukon truck that was riddled with bullets the night of the riot,testified Tuesdaythat he was at the Ross homeon the night in question, butwas too intoxicated to remember much of what happened.