Saint John jury watches videotaped police statement of accused killer

On Day 7 of the second-degree murder trial of Justin Breau, the jury heard from the accused in the form of a police interview taken two days after the shooting of 42-year-old Mark Shatford on Saint John's west side.

But how much they got out of the video remains to be seen.

Breau spent most of the interview slouched in a chair in the interview room, mumbling most of his answers. The majority of his responses are unintelligible.

Breau, 37, is on trial for second-degree murder in the death ofShatford. He is accused of shooting Shatford at about 4:25 a.m. on Nov. 17, 2019. At the time of the video, Shatford was still alive, so Breau was arrested for attempted murder and armed robbery.

The video lasted more than two hours and shows Breau dressed in a jail-issued orange shirt and pants.

When left alone, Breau can be seen inspecting himself in the mirror, spending significant time examining a lump about half the size of a golf ball on the side of his head.

In the video, the interviewer, Const. Chris McCutcheon, describes a spree of violence occurring in the city at that time.

The officer told Breau there were shootings, stabbings and retaliation at least two of which resulted in lockdowns at schools, including one that very day at Saint John High School.

McCutcheon also told Breau that his own home, which he sharedwith his mother and his daughter, had been hit with tear gas the night before. He also told Breau that police had arrested his mother.

Breau appeared to know about the arrestbut not the tear gas.

McCutcheon did the vast majority of the talking, offering bits of information to Breau about gun violence, possible drug turf wars and retaliation. Most of Breau's answers were very difficult to understand in the courtroom.

But whenever he was asked direct questions about his involvement in the shooting, he said he wouldn't answer any more questions.

Mr. Justice Thomas Christie cautioned the 13 members of the jury about the videotaped statement and explained that the interview style used by the officer was a common police interview technique. He said the information and rumours that wererevealed to Breau by the police officer could not be accepted as evidence only the answers that Breau may have given.

In the video-taped statement with police, Breau said he knew Mark Shatford and his fiance, Melissa Daley. He said he owed Daley "a grand or two."

He also said they "had sex a few times."

Breau told McCutcheon that Shatford and Daley were drug users and dealers, including of cocaine.

"They sell drugs. They do drugs. All day, every day," he said.

In short spurts, Breau said there were a lot of things going on in Saint John. He said everybody has guns and everybody's on drugs.

"You guys have no idea what's going on," he mumbled.

When left alone in the interview room, Breau often paced restlessly back and forth or examined himself in the mirror. He also mumbled and swore to himself.

Earlier on Thursday, the court also heard from Shatford's 18-year-old stepdaughter, Mya Middleton, who told a slightly different version of events than other members of her family and a different version than she originally told police in the hours after the shooting.

She originally told police that she awoke to screaming. On Thursday morning, she told the court that it sounded like people "quietly arguing."

In her original police statement, she said Shatford was yelling at people outside on the street.But in court on Thursday, she said he was just talking to a person she only saw in silhouette.

On some details, her evidence also differed from other witnesses, including her 19-year-old brother, Treyton.

Treyton testified on Wednesday that he was fighting on the ground with one of the masked intruders when Shatford got shot.

But Mya testified that Treyton was standing next to Shatfordat the time.

After seven days of testimony, the jury has heard from 21 witnesses. The Crown is expected to wrap up its case on Friday.