Bystander shot during dispute over fake pot made of cat hair and spices, court told

A fake drug deal involving small bag of cat hair and spices may have been the cause of a violent home invasion that left a young woman paralyzed from the chest down and two other people wounded, the trial for a Cole Harbour man heard Tuesday.

Markel Jason Downey faces 28 charges, including three counts of attempted murder, in connection with the November 2014 incident that put Ashley MacLean Kearse in a wheelchair.

Witness Jordan Langworthy testified at Downey's trial in Nova Scotia Supreme Court that he and some others were playing video games at a Cole Harbour home when four men arrived at the door.

All four had their faces concealed by bandanas and two of them appeared to be carrying cans of bear spray, he said.

Fake bag of weed

Langworthy told the court that even though their faces were concealed, he recognized one of the suspects by his "squeaky, irritating" voice. He said he recognized another suspect by what he was saying.

He admitted to selling a bag of what he claimed was a gram of marijuana to a woman he knew. He said the woman had told him she was buying the drugs on behalf of someone else.

However, Langworthy testified the bag actually contained a mix of cat hair and spices not marijuana.

Langworthy testified that one of the masked men said, "You didn't think I would find out that you sold me a fake gram?"

Langworthy said he "didn't make a dime" off the supposed drug transaction because the bag of fake dope was supplied by someone else.

Masked man had gun

Langworthy said the four masked men herded everyone in the house into a bedroom. It was then Langworthy said he noticed that one of the men, who was standing in the doorway, had a small handgun.

He said Kearse yelled at the men to leave.

But Langworthy said one of the men demanded answers, asking "Where is the money? Where is the weed?"

Langworthy, who testified he was trying to avoid making eye contact with the men, said there were a couple of flashes that he realized were gunshots.

"I put my head down and tried not to get shot," he told the court. He said the masked men fled and he was sitting on the bed with Kearse beside him.

'It couldn't have been real'

"I told her that it couldn't have been real," said Langworthy, who required a staple to close a wound in his head and stitches to close an injury on his hand.

"They must have been blanks and we're all going to be OK."

It was then that Langworthy said he noticed Kearse wasn't moving.

Kearse herself is expected to testify later in this trial.

Defence challenges testimony

Downey's lawyer Patrick MacEwen challenged Langworthy on inconsistencies in the three interviews he gave police, his testimony at the preliminary inquiry and Tuesday's testimony.

Langworthy said he may not remember all the small details clearly, but he vividly remembers the "horrible stuff" from that evening.

Three other people all young offenders were charged in the matter. They pleaded guilty in August 2015 to aggravated assault, breaking and entering, robbery and wearing a mask to commit a crime. Their identities are protected by a publication ban.

The trial for Downey, which opened last week, is scheduled to last 15 days.

Downey represented Nova Scotia as a boxer in the 2011 Canada Games, which were held in Halifax. He won gold in the 49-kilogram to 52-kilogram category.