Moncton jury hears about guns, drugs and cash found in teen's home

An RCMP officer has testified about the firearms, drugs and thousands in cash police seized from the home of Joedin Leger after his 2022 death in Moncton. 

Cross-examination of RCMP Const. Julie Wood, who was the police exhibits officer for the investigation of the 18-year-old's death, continued Wednesday. 

The testimony came on the seventh day of the jury trial of Riley Phillips, 20, who faces a charge of second-degree murder. It's alleged he killed Leger on April 25, 2022.

The Crown alleges Leger was shot during a home invasion and robbery allegedly involving Phillips and five others.

Defence lawyer Brian Munro's cross-examination focused on weapons, drugs and money seized from Leger's home, at 150 Logan Lane. 

Wood said $7,935 in cash was found in little bags in a Louis Vuitton bag in a bedroom. 

She also testified about seizing more than 1.4 lbs (0.6 kg) of marijuana from the home, with some separated into smaller bags. Wood also said four bags of cannabis edibles were also found.

Wood testified that a sawed off shotgun was found on the kitchen floor. 

A homemade gun, which had a spent .22 calibre shell casing inside, was also found in the dining room, Wood testified. 

Wood said a gunshot residue test of Leger's hands was among the exhibits she dealt with, but the jury has yet to hear the results of the testing. 

Wood said an airsoft gun was also found in the trunk of Leger's Chevy Cobalt parked in the driveway outside his home. 

The jury has heard testimony from paramedics and police officers that Leger appeared to have multiple gunshot wounds. 

Jurors have heard that a bullet recovered from Leger's body during an autopsy matched a .38 revolver found in a Moncton apartment 14 months after his death, during a separate investigation.

Wood's testimony finished Wednesday afternoon, followed by the Crown continuing with testimony from forensics unit Sgt. Mitchell Perry, who described photos he took of the home during the investigation. 

Perry's photos include a shot of the front door of Leger's home, which he said did not appear to show signs of forced entry. 

Other photos show various items of clothing seized by police from 31 Nancy St., where previous witnesses have testified that Phillips was arrested several hours after Leger died.

He was later released, but an officer who read him his Charter rights testified she noted Phillips had a wound on his right hand. 

The clothing items seized at Nancy Street included a red Toronto Raptors hoodie. 

Photos of clothing, car shown

Linus Dunn, a witness who saw a group of four people running to a parked Honda Civic on Logan Lane around 6:10 a.m. the morning Leger died, testified last week that one of the four was wearing a red hoodie.

Dunn testified he noted the licence plate of the vehicle the four people got into and gave the number to police that morning. 

Perry's photos also included ones taken at a duplex on Kendra Street in Moncton on April 27, 2022. Inside a garage on the property was a grey Honda Civic with its licence plate removed.