A former full-patch member of the Devil’s Army motorcycle club, who has said he helped carry Dillon Brown’s body, snorted cocaine and was sleep-deprived on the day of Brown’s killing, a B.C. Supreme Court jury heard Monday.
The former biker, who can only be identified as X, was on the stand for the third day at Richard Alexander’s trial for the first-degree murder of Brown. Alexander, the former president of the club, has pleaded not guilty.
Brown, a 30-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, was shot and killed on March 11, 2016 at the Devil’s Army Clubhouse in Campbell River.
His body was found the next day in the trunk of his car, abandoned near the Cable Bridge in Sayward, 75 kilometres north of Campbell River.
Last week, X testified that he discovered Brown’s body on the floor of the clubhouse and smelled gunpowder in the air.
He testified that he helped Alexander place Brown’s body in the trunk of Brown’s car and cleaned up the crime scene.
X testified that he became increasingly paranoid and disenchanted with the motorcycle club after the murder. He began co-operating with police in July 2017.
During cross-examination, defence lawyer Brent Anderson noted that X had been placed on probation for a year after his employer discovered he was using marijuana. X also lost access to his computer when his employer learned he was a member of the Falcons Motorcycle Club. His employer never learned that he was using cocaine.
X admitted his financial situation wasn’t good. In February 2016, strapped for cash, he took out a $1,000 payday loan from Money Mart. He also began using his wife’s phone because it would have been too expensive to have two phones.
“Our spending habits weren’t too good,” X testified.
For a short period of time, when X first joined the Devil’s Army, he was interested in joining the Hells Angels, he said. But he lost interest in December 2015 and wasn’t willing to go through the Hells Angels program, he told Anderson.
Most of his clothing was made up of support gear — T-shirts and hoodies — for the Devil’s Army and Hells Angels, he said.
Last week, X testified that Alexander returned to the clubhouse between 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. on March 11, 2016, the day Brown was killed.
On Monday, Anderson showed the court photos of a truck similar to Alexander’s driving on Evergreen Road, heading away from the clubhouse at 1:14 p.m. that day.
X also testified that prior to the murder, he and Alexander were in the basement of the clubhouse waiting for Brown to arrive and checking the video surveillance monitor behind the bar for Brown’s car.
X testified that he didn’t see any sign that Alexander had a firearm.
The radio was on, he recalled.
“You testified that Dillon’s car comes in, the gate opens, then you go outside and you meet Dillon. You’re not watching the CCTV camera continuously for the entire period of time,” said Anderson.
“I don’t believe so,” X replied.
“So you don’t know if someone came through that open gate right before Dillon?” said the defence lawyer.
“If they came through the gate, no I don’t,” X said.
“Because you had to leave the monitor to go outside, you don’t know if someone came in immediately after Dillon, right?” Anderson said.
“It may have been a possibility,” X replied.
X’s testimony continues today.
ldickson@timescolonist.com
