Hit-and-run trial adjourned until Friday over security video time code dispute

The hit-and-run trial of Maurice Johnson in the death of Brady Francis came to an unexpected halt Wednesday for thethird time, following a dispute between the Crown and defence about security video time codes.

The Crown wasexpected to wrap its case with the testimony ofthe lead investigator,who analyzed security video of the road in Saint-Charles where Francis, 22, of Elsipogtog First Nation, was found deadon Feb. 24, 2018.

RCMP Const. Mathieu Richardtold the Moncton Court of Queen's Bench he reviewed footage taken from two locations along Saint-Charles South Road the Saint-Charles gas station and the home of Louis Daigle.

Richard said he first observed a light-coloured pickup truck similar to the 2003 GMC Sierra seized from Johnson in the gas station video.

It was heading eastboundat 9:40 p.m., according to the time code,but the "readjusted" time would be 9:33 p.m., he said.

On Tuesday, Richard had testified the time on the security camera was about 7.5 minutes fast, so he adjusted the time codes,based on the time on his cellphone.

During cross-examination Wednesday, defence lawyer Gilles Lemieuxquestioned what steps Richard had taken to verify that the time on his cellphone was correct.

"Am I right in assuming you didn't take any steps?" he asked.

"Yes, you are correct," Richard replied.

Lemieux also challenged the officer about what he had done to verify no one had tampered with thesecurity camera system or whether there had been a power outage. Richard said he didn't check either.

Lemieux argued Richard hadimproperlymodified his document, entitled Timeline of Events, and that it should notbe entered into evidence.

Crown prosecutor Pierre Gionet requested time to prepare his response.

Justice Denise LeBlancagreed and adjourned the trial until Friday at 9:30 a.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.

Richard is expected to be the Crown's final witness.

The defence is expected to call four witnesses.

It's not clear whetherthe accused will take the stand.

Earlier in the trial, the former owner and operator of the Saint-Charles gas stationtestified the time code on her security camera was about seven or eight minutes off from the actual time.

The court also heard from thestepdaughter of Louis Daigle, who said the time code onhis security camerawas off by about two or three minutes.

The gas station video shows Francis walking eastbound along the road a few minutes before the light-coloured truck drives past.

Lemieux pointed out eight other vehicles are captured on the videos,fivetravelling eastbound and three westbound.He asked Richard whether any of them were checked for damage. They were not, said Richard.

The court has heard the damage to the front of Johnson's truck was consistent with a pedestrian being struck.

Francis's bodywas found lying on the side ofthe westbound lane,between the gas station and afriend's house farther east down the road, where he had attended a diaper party.

The Crown arguedthe video evidence helpscomplete the picture and provethe Crown's theory thatthe truck Johnson was drivingwasthe one that struck Francis.

Earlier this week, the court watched Johnson's videotaped statement to police and heard from officers who questioned him following the incident.

Johnson told police he initially thought he had struck a deer in Saint-Charles during a leisure drive with his wife the night Francis was killed.

Under police questioning, Johnson said he had not consumed any alcohol or drugs.

Elsipogtog First Nation Chief Arren Sock was among those who attended the proceedings on Wednesday. He was in the adjacent courtroom, where a volunteer is providing translation for the family and friends of Francis who do not speak French.

The trial, which began on Jan. 13,is scheduled to continue until Jan. 31.