Pynn-Butler trial: Butler was 'upset and anxious' days after Winsor's death
A family friend and former employer of Lyndon Butler testified Friday in Supreme Court in St. John's about Butler's behaviour in the days following Nick Winsor's July 2011 shooting death.
Since the trial for Butler and Philip Pynn began three weeks ago, much of the evidence brought forward has focused on Pynn, 28. But Friday morning, the attention shifted to Butler.
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The court was told that Henry Power, a witness for the Crown, acted as a mentor to Butler; he even wrote a letter to the parole board saying Power would hire Butler to work for his company if he was released from prison in relation to a different matter.
Butler, 24, was employed by Power for several months before his July 13, 2011 arrest.
"Lyndon had been in trouble in the past, you knew that," Jeff Brace said to Power.
Power told the court that Butler was a "smart kid" who wasn't living up to his potential at the time.
On July 11, 2011 — two days after Winsor's death — Power testified he received a call from Butler asking him to meet up.
Power said that Butler "was anxious and was looking for help or direction" during their meeting.
Instead, Power said he offered to find Butler a lawyer. Two days later, Butler was taken in by police on a parole warrant, and was later charged with the second-degree murder of Winsor.
The court also learned through Brace's cross-examination of the witness that Butler had gone to trade school after he was granted bail in March 2012. He is now working as an electrician.
After cross-examination, the Crown said it now has issue with Butler's character, meaning that the Crown could call evidence to put Butler's character into question.
Phone call
Kayla Scurrey, 27, also took the stand Friday morning at Supreme Court.
Scurrey testified that she has known Pynn since junior high school, and that she was with him and Jonathan Rowe, who is charged as an accessory in this case, about a week before Winsor's death.
She said on July 10, 2011, she received a call on her phone from Pynn's former lawyer Averill Baker's number. Jarrett Cody, Scurrey's boyfriend, answered the phone and left the room, the court was told.
This is nothing to do with Felicia- Kayla Scurrey
Scurrey said she knew Pynn was the one on the phone with her boyfriend. But during cross-examination, Pynn's lawyer Mark Gruchy suggested that Scurrey did not know who it was on the phone.
It was revealed that Scurrey lied in the beginning of her Jan. 2012 police statement regarding the phone call. However, Scurrey said she later told police the truth.
"Do you realize when you give a statement to police it is important to tell the truth?" Gruchy asked.
Scurrey told police that the call must have come from Baker's phone because Pynn was arrested at her house two days after Winsor's death.
Through cross-examination, Scurrey said that she had an issue with Pynn's sister Felicia Pynn during the time she gave her police statement.
However, she told the court that had nothing to do with what she told police.
"This is nothing to do with Felicia," Scurrey told the court.
Pynn and Butler are being tried for the second-degree murder of Winsor and the attempted murder of Tom "Billy" Power.
The trial resumes on Tuesday.