Henry Pottie is accused of killing Jamie Leard in Upper Cape on May 25, 2021
More details emerged in a murder trial about how 38-year-old Jamie Leard's remains were found almost two years ago.
Testimony revealed that key information surfaced during a meeting near the Aulac Big Stop that was secretly recorded, information later shared with the RCMP.
The testimony came as Henry Pottie's trial on a charge of first-degree murder continued Tuesday afternoon. Pottie is accused of killing Leard in Upper Cape on May 25, 2021.
Jeff Trenholm told jurors he was among the people in southeastern New Brunswick trying to find Leard after he was reported missing May 28, 2021.
"We were looking for Jamie, just trying to find out what we could hear," Trenholm said.
He said Colt Leblanc messaged him saying they should meet if he wanted to find out what happened to Leard.
Trenholm said he went with his brother, who went to school with LeBlanc, to Aulac. He said he met with Leblanc in a car outside a smoke shop across the road from the gas station.
"I wanted to know what he was going to tell me that I didn't know," Trenholm testified under cross-examination Tuesday afternoon.
Trenholm decided to record the conversation, testifying he wanted to ensure he was believed if he passed the information on to authorities.
Crown prosecutor Guillaume Rigucci cautioned Trenholm not to discuss exactly what Leblanc said since it would be hearsay evidence.
The jury did not hear many specifics, but some details emerged under cross-examination by defence lawyer Nathan Gorham.
Gorham asked if Leblanc told him that Sean Patterson admitted shooting Leard. The Crown objected to the question and Trenholm didn't answer.
Patterson's name has surfaced at several points through the trial. Patterson was Leard's roommate. The jury has already heard he recently pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
During an opening statement, Rigucci told the jury the Crown expected to present evidence showing two people shot Leard at his Upper Cape home, cleaned the scene and then burned and hid his remains.
Trenholm also testified Leblanc provided enough information for him to know where Leard's remains were hidden.
He said he waited about 24 hours without seeing police activity in the area before deciding to go with Shannon Wall to the location in Coburg.
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He said he went there because it was the only location where a trailer home was visible from a former rail line that runs from Sackville to Cape Tormentine used as a snowmobile and all-terrain vehicle trail.
Trenholm said as soon as he got out of the truck near an abandoned trailer home, he knew they were in the right spot.
He testified that he had heard Leard had been burned and covered with material and an old oil tank. He said he saw freshly burned grass near the trailer and knew they were in the right place.
On Monday, Wall testified about going to Coburg based on information from a recording, leading to the discovery of Leard's remains on June 3, 2021.
Trenholm was the second witness to testify in the trial Tuesday. The start of testimony was delayed until the afternoon. Justice Robert Dysart told jurors that a witness summoned had failed to appear Tuesday morning and that a warrant would be issued.
The first witness Tuesday was Denise Johnson whose testimony focused on three rifles entered as exhibits in the trial.
In the Crown's opening statement last week, Rigucci told jurors they would hear evidence that Pottie sold the guns hours after allegedly killing Leard.
Johnson said around May 25 or 26, a few days before Leard was reported missing, her son Zach asked if she was interested in buying several guns. She said he had "an opportunity to get them cheap." Under cross-examination, she said she only found out recently her son traded the guns for cocaine.
Johnson testified Zach and his girlfriend picked up the three rifles and brought them to her house, where she kept them for about a week before turning them over to the RCMP.
Johnson testified that after Leard was reported missing, a police officer came to her home asking to talk to her son. That led her to concocting a story with her son to cover up his girlfriend's involvement to keep him out of trouble.
He was facing an assault charge and was under court conditions to not possess firearms or have any contact with his girlfriend.
Johnson testified that she lied to police, claiming she was the one who went with her son to pick up the guns.
Under cross-examination, Gorham focused on the lies she only recanted ahead of the trial. Gorham suggested Johnson's lies may have prevented evidence in a murder case from coming to light.
Source:https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/henry-pottie-jamie-leard-murder-trial-5-1.6821412
