Did a citizen of Saint-Raymond fear a stranger on his land and pick up a gun, or did he attack a fisherman in the river bordering his land for no reason? That's the question a judge will have to decide after a hearing similar to the fishing story held Wednesday in Quebec.
Christian Couillard, 66, faces four counts of pointing a firearm in addition to another count of misdemeanor harassment.
According to the Crown's theory, a resident of Saint-Raymond in the town of Portneuf pointed his weapon in the direction of a man who was fishing in the river bordering his house on the 1st.R June 2021.
The complainant in the case, originally from Chagune, told Judge Julie Roy that she rented a room near the accused's residence with her work colleagues for the duration of the construction contract. One evening, after work, he went fishing in the Mauvais River, but instead he was “seen by a gun”.
granted by the court
“He targeted me”
“He came out naked and yelled at me that I had no right to be there,” Anthony LaRouche said of the accused, adding that he noticed he was naked despite being “200 to 300 meters” away. His penis.
“It was very impressive,” said the witness, adding, “Over 12 inches, easy.”
In the next moments, Couillard returned with his weapon, pointing it directly at the fisherman. “A gun about three feet long,” said the witness, who, following the scale with his hands, would have made a good shot.
“The barrel was pointed forward, the weapon rested on his shoulder. He aimed at me,” assured the 27-year-old man, who explained that he fled through the grounds of a chalet on the other side of the river before going to alert the owner of the house he was renting, who then contacted the police.
Fears
Christian Couillard's version of events is very different.
The 66-year-old accused admitted to stopping in the river while he was naked on his balcony when he came out to “pee”. The fisherman then insulted him severely before leaving the river on the other side to return via a nearby bridge. He would have appeared on his land, “about 150 feet away”, with an “aggressive gait”.
granted by the court
“When I saw it, I didn't do anything, I just picked up the weapon,” the accused testified about the non-functional sawed-off shotgun, which a police officer described Wednesday, “looked more like a handgun than a rifle.”
Couillard then raises the weapon, but to the sky, he assures. Out of fear, to protect oneself.
“I'm not saying it was the smartest move of my life, but I didn't point it out to him.”
And as for the length of his penis, his lawyer Richard-Philippe Quay had to ask him based on the complainant's testimony: “Five or six inches,” the accused said, visibly uncomfortable.
“It's not 12 inches anyway,” he added, stifling a nervous laugh.
Different versions
So who is telling the truth? That's the question for Judge Julie Roy to decide as she evaluates the credibility of the witnesses in this story.
In defence, the testimony of the complainant who said he saw the length of the accused's penis “200, 300 meters” but mistook the type of weapon fired at him “doesn't hold water” .
During the trial, inconsistencies were raised between the testimony of Christian Couillard and his accomplice, particularly regarding the sequence of events. Manon Addy described, among other things, bringing underwear to her partner, a man shouting at her that he wanted to rip her head off, while the accused explained that he had put on the underwear his wife had brought him before anyone came home. .
And the complainant says she never set foot on Christian Couillard's land, which is consistent with “common sense,” according to the follower.
“The defence, as a whole, contradicts itself. Why would the appellant have gone so far by the bridge when he could have crossed the river and settled his score directly?” State counsel Me Fabien Villemaire believes that the alleged victim can misjudge factors such as the distance of the gunman towards him, the length of the latter or the length of his penis.
“We have to ask ourselves what struck the complainant the most that day. He tells you: “He pulled a gun on me.” That marked him.
Judge Julie Roy is hearing the case on recommendation and will rule in August. It has already been accepted that the Crown has discharged its burden on the charge of possession of a prohibited weapon, but the defense still believes that Christian Guillard should be acquitted of the other four offences.
