Hit-and-run trial adjourns abruptly over error involving accused's video statement to police
Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon | CBC News | Posted: January 15, 2020 12:30 PM | Last Updated: January 15, 2020
Portions of the 5-hour video were supposed to be edited out after being deemed inadmissible
The trial of Maurice Johnson in the 2018 hit-and-run death of Brady Francis came to an abrupt halt Wednesday because the accused's videotaped statement to police had not been edited in accordance with the judge's decision.
The Moncton Court of Queen's Bench also heard that the blood found on Johnson's damaged pickup truck the morning after Francis was killed was human blood, but did not match the victim's DNA profile.
The trial will resume Thursday at 9:30 a.m. with testimony from an accident reconstructionist and the video of Johnson's statement will now be shown on Monday.
Francis, 22, of Elsipogtog First Nation was found dead on Saint-Charles South Road in Saint-Charles, about 100 kilometres north of Moncton, on Feb. 24, 2018, around 9:40 p.m.
Johnson, 57, of Saint-Charles, has pleaded not guilty to failing to stop at the scene of an accident that caused a person's death. RCMP announced the charge against him in June of 2018.
Last summer, there was a voir dire on the admissibility of Johnson's five-hour interview with police and Justice Denise LeBlanc ruled certain portions were inadmissible.
The trial was expected to watch the edited four-hour version of the video Wednesday morning, but Crown prosecutor Pierre Gionet informed the court he watched it on Tuesday night and noticed it did not match what had been decided.
Gionet said he had difficulty sleeping when he realized the video couldn't be shown as scheduled, but said he required an adjournment to correct the mistake.
The judge said she understood and was not looking to lay blame for the delay, but noted she had asked at least five times whether the video would be ready for viewing.
She said she is disappointed for Johnson and for the family of Brady Francis.
Outside court, defence lawyer Gilles Lemieux said Johnson understands the reason for the postponement.
"Mr. Johnson has been under the gun here for two years and he's hopeful that we can get a result here in the near future. But you know, as I said to him, we can do it quickly, or we can do it right," he said.
"This is not going to be fatal to the process. We'll be able to take a little bit of time and then we'll move on. So it should not be a problem. We have lots of time available to finish the trial."
Three weeks have been set aside, until Jan. 31.
Earlier Wednesday, Lemieux asked the judge to declare part of an officer's testimony regarding blood found on Johnson's truck irrelevant.
On Tuesday, RCMP Const. Ricky LeBlond testified he responded to a 911 call the morning after Francis's body was found from someone who wanted to report an accident.
LeBlond said he didn't know who had called, but the address was the home of the accused and the front of Johnson's pickup truck was damaged.
The grill was broken, the GMC logo was missing and he saw blood on the vehicle, he said.
But Lemieux told the court samples tested by the RCMP lab and broader independent testing he subsequently requested showed the blood was not Francis's blood, he said.
The judge agreed to disregard the blood-related portion of the officer's testimony.
Victim captured on video
On Tuesday, the trial saw a security video of the victim walking on the road on the night he was killed and a tan vehicle passing by shortly afterward.
RCMP Const. Caroline Thibodeau testified the video showed Francis walking eastbound on Saint-Charles South Road at about 9:34 p.m.
The vehicle that passed around 9:40 p.m. was of interest, she said, because that was about the same time police received a 911 call about a possible hit and run.
Language issues
The accused had asked to be tried in French, but so far witnesses have been testifying in both French and English.
The victim's family had asked that translation services be provided by the court. None were provided, but family members were told they could provide their own translation and there would be a courtroom available for them to use.
On Tuesday afternoon, the family moved to the other room where Cheryl Haynes is volunteering to provide translation.
"I think that, you know, they are obviously in a time of need and they should be supported," Haynes told CBC News.
"It's not a time to be really separating whether or not it's an English or a French thing, but at this point it's really come down to that. And as a member of the Mi'kmaq family, we are all one … We are supposed to be there for everyone and I felt that was extremely important."