Accused in Reno Lee death blames meth high for inconsistent testimony

One of the men accused of killing Reno Lee testified that he was high on methamphetamine while being questioned in custody.

Bronson Gordon, Daniel Theodore and Andrew Bellegarde have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and committing an indignity to a body related to Lee's April 2015 death in Regina.

Gordon began testifying Wednesday, and was the last witness called in the trial that has been going on on for several weeks at Regina's Court of Queen's bench.  

In the videos, Gordon tells police several stories that differ from his testimony heard in court.  

Gordon testified that he lied numerous times to police and exaggerated greatly because he was high on crystal meth, to pass on blame and to tell police what he thought they wanted to hear. Furthermore, he said he couldn't remember making certain statements. 

He maintains he had nothing to do with Lee's death and that he didn't plan it, contrary to Crown witness testimony and evidence that has suggested otherwise. 

Gordon testified that several witnesses lied and alleged the Crown's use of the police videos in the cross-examination was "unfair," because he was so high at the time.

Testimony earlier in proceedings indicated that Lee had been at Gordon's apartment to broker a drug partnership.

Gordon had testified that although he was selling drugs for a gang and managing a stable of drug runners, he himself was not a gang member at the time of Lee's death. He was working to pay off the several thousand dollars of debt, court heard.  

Gordon said he didn't know anything was going to happen to Lee when he came over beyond the business meeting. But in interviews with police, Gordon said he thought Lee was going to be confronted about drug debts.

"I knew this guy owed money or whatever but I didn't know it was going to go down like this... I didn't think he was going to get murdered," the court heard Gordon had told police. 

A witness, who cannot be named due a publication ban, testified earlier in proceedings that Gordon asked him to work off a $800 drug debt, and that Gordon handed him a shotgun to help out with holding and scaring Lee. Gordon said the witness lied.

"The stage was set before I even got into there," he told the court, adding that he didn't see a shotgun.

Lee was shot and dismembered in Regina and then his body was buried in a shallow grave on the Star Blanket First Nation. Lee had been at Gordon's apartment and he was then taken to a home on the 1100 block of Garnet Street where he was confined against his will.

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• Witness at 3-man murder trial says Andrew Bellegarde told her he shot Reno Lee

Gordon told police that Lee wasn't tied up when he left the apartment but that people had guns on him, but on Friday said that wasn't actually true — it was just one of several examples of lies he says he told. 

When Gordon was arrested, he had meth hidden in his rectum so he could get high while in custody and he claimed police knew he was high when they questioned him.

The jury is expected to be back in court on Wednesday to hear the closing remarks.