Witness in Reno Lee homicide describes 'frantic' accused, drug use leading up to Lee's death

An alleged eyewitness who took the stand Thursday in the trial of three men charged in connection with the death of Reno Lee in Regina told the court about the drug-fuelled evening that eventually led to the man's death.

Andrew Bellegarde, Bronson Gordon and Daniel Theodore have all pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and committing an indignity to a body.

Lee was allegedly killed over a drug debt. His dismembered body was found in a shallow grave on the Starblanket First Nation in 2015.

The identity of the witness who testified Thursday is protected under a publication ban. He told told the court about one of the homes where Lee was allegedly held, located on the 1100 block of Garnet Street.  

He said it was a drug house, where people would come and go to buy crack, crystal meth and fentanyl. The witness said he was also an addict and was on drugs on the night of April 16, 2015.

The witness testified that two of the accused showed up that night with Lee in tow, and a gun. He said it was unexpected and the group was frantic. 

"Being on drugs, it just scares the daylight out of me because I didn't know what was going on," he told the court. 

The men asked the witness where the basement was and he said he pointed it out. 

When he went down in the basement to cook some crack cocaine, the witness says he saw Lee sitting in the corner, with his wrists and mouth tied with tape. He said Lee seemed to be in rough shape, but was awake. 

"I started cooking the crack. I was kind of nervous because Bellegarde was high and just waving the gun around," the witness testified.

He said he wasn't not a fool and knew something serious was up, so he wanted to get out. Shortly after, he left the house with two others, including a child, and said they didn't return for a week. 

Then, he said he came back to find a basement with numerous bleach bottles. He said the basement smelled like a swimming pool. On the floor was something that he at first thought was rust. He started cleaning it feverishly, but soon realized it was blood. 

Cross-examination of the witness will continue Friday morning.

The jury now consists of 12 people, after another was released from the trial late Wednesday.