Man recalls bullet breaking through bedroom window in accused shooter trial

The first shot a Fredericton Police Force constable took at an active shooter was a misfire.

Const. Brett Arbeau testified to shooting Matthew Raymond, the man accused of four counts of first-degree murder.

Raymond, 50, has admitted to shooting Donnie Robichaud and Bobbie Lee Wright, then Fredericton constables Sara Burns and Robb Costello as they responded to a call of shots fired at 237 Brookside Dr. on Aug. 10, 2018. His defence team is arguing he was not criminally responsible for the act.

On Monday the jury heard from seven witnesses, including six police officers and one resident of the apartment complex who recounted Raymond shooting into his and his son's bedrooms.

'It was a misfire'

Arbeau walked the jury through what he saw that morning, ending with him shooting Raymond in the abdomen.

Arbeau testified when the call first came in that morning, multiple police cars left in a convoy toward Brookside Drive. He was the third car, behind Costello and Burns, and Sergeant Jason Forward.

He said Costello and Burns turned into the first driveway, and he lost sight of them as he drove on. He was told to block traffic, and as he was getting his armour on, he heard several shots, he says.

He heard Forward say "two officers were down" over the radio.

He said Forward then came over the air to say shots were coming from building C. He could see several bullet holes in the picture window of a top-floor apartment, which they later identified as Apartment 11, Raymond's apartment.

He was told the suspect was in the picture window and had a white tee-shirt on. Arbeau says he was across the courtyard from that window. He looked up and saw the man. He said over the radio that he did see a suspect and he did have a shot. Forward told him to take the shot if the suspect raises a firearm.

Arbeau testified he got on his stomach to get more stability. As he was looking forward "I saw him raise a long gun." He took his own gun off safety, he says.

"I pulled the trigger and it was a misfire."

By the time he cleared the blockage on his gun, Arbeau says the suspect had lowered his gun, so he didn't feel "justified" to shoot. He kept an eye on the man, who was surveying the area from north to south. The man's eyes pass Arbeau, then quickly go back to him, Arbeau said.

Arbeau said they locked eyes and he saw the man raise his gun and point the barrel at him. Arbeau yelled "gun, gun" and shot. He hit the man in the abdomen, he said. The man spun and fell, and didn't get back up.

Arbeau said he stayed put until he was cleared.

"It seemed like a very very long time."

'I was lucky that he was sleeping'

Court also heard from Sayad Motallebikia, a former resident of the building opposite to Raymond's. He was the first witness to appear by video link, and spoke from British Columbia. 

Motallebikia said he lived at Building A with his wife and two sons - who were 18 and eight years old at the time. He said that morning he woke up to "sounds" but didn't know what they were. He looked out his bedroom window with his wife, when he saw a man with a gun and heard his window break. He and his wife dropped to the floor

The Crown showed a photo of his bedroom window, with a bullet hole in the glass.

Motallebikia said his son was sleeping, but there was a bullet hole through his window as well, and one over his son's bed.

"I was lucky that he was sleeping otherwise he had been shot," he said.

On cross examination, defence lawyer Adrian Forsythe asked Motallebikia if he remembers staring at Raymond or "giving him some sort of intimidating look?" He said "I don't think so."

Forsythe asked if he ever sent his son to give Raymond any sort of message? He said no. 

"My son couldn't speak English at that time so he never talked to anybody," he said.

Forsythe asked if his son ever went to Mr Raymond's window and said "come out and play, baby"?

"Never," Motallebikia said. 

In the defence's opening statement on the first day of trial, defence lawyer Breana Vandebeek told the jury Raymond had a strange delusion of a child in the courtyard of his apartment complex, whispering to him something to the effect of "Come play, baby."

Arriving at the scene in an armoured vehicle

The second witness Monday was Cpl. Jerett Blackmore. He was in the armoured vehicle that drove into the parking lot where the victims were laying, as well as a couple who were not shot but taking shelter.

Blackmore said he got out of the armoured vehicle and checked the pulse of Const. Costello.

"He had no pulse ... His eyes looked glossy," Blackmore said.

He said based on the injuries of the other victims he knew they were also fatally shot. He moved his attention to the couple "huddled" behind a car and moved them to safety.

Another officer, Const. Brandon Jordan with the Fredericton Police Force, said after Raymond was shot, officers on the outside launched tear gas, called CS gas, through the windows, and officers in the hallway were throwing canisters by hand into the apartment. Officers also shot a gaseous form of pepper spray into the apartment as well.

Once Raymond was arrested, Jordan helped take him down to  the armoured vehicle. He said "there was some resistance" to the initial arrest, and Raymond was "dead weight" as they were carrying him out.

He said Raymond was making "Weird, groggy gargling sounds ... which is an indicator of CS gas"

Jordan said during transport he poured water onto Raymond's face to relieve the effects of the pepper spray and tear gas.

At that point Jordan said to Raymond "Don't you f--king die on me."

He got no response. 

Raymond was then taken into an ambulance.

'There was absolutely no signs of life'

Const. Stephen Murphy testified he and other officer went into the parking lot in the armoured vehicle to recover Burns and survey the scene.

He said after looking around, "there was absolutely no signs of life whatsoever." 

He said they still took Burns into the armoured vehicle, and when they handed her to an ambulance, her gun was still holstered by her side. Another officer, Const. Steven Cliff, testified Costello's gun was also holstered.

Murphy was outside Raymond's apartment building when he was brought out. Murphy has first-responder training, and did an initial assessment on him. He said he saw a bullet wound in his abdomen, and what looked like an exit wound near his armpit. Murphy said he was asking Raymond questions such as "Do you know where you are? What time of day it is?"

He said Raymond didn't verbally answer, but made eye contact and nodded his head. He said Raymond was "conscious" and "alert."

On cross examination, Murphy agreed that Raymond's lack of response to pain was not what he expected.

"It wasn't what I anticipated from a gunshot wound," he said.

Twelve people testified last week, including seven people who lived at the apartment complex, and a Fredericton Police Force sergeant who was right behind Burns and Costello when they responded that morning.

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