Leonard Brian Cochrane mentioned he fled the scene out of worry, which prompted him to not report what he noticed to the police
Double-murder suspect Leonard Brian Cochrane mentioned he was within the unsuitable place on the unsuitable time when gunmen stormed a southeast Calgary residence three a long time in the past, killing two males.
Cochrane informed his Calgary Court docket of King’s Bench trial he was on the residence of drug seller Barry Buchart, whom he’d simply met, when two armed and masked intruders barged in.
And Cochrane denied options he the truth is was one of many two assailants who fatally shot Buchart and his roommate, Trevor Deakins, within the early morning hours of July 11, 1994.
Cochrane, 54, informed defence lawyer Balfour Der that he was leaving a seventeenth Avenue S.E. comfort retailer when Buchart approached him asking if he was inquisitive about buying medicine.
The accused mentioned he was inquisitive about shopping for an oz. of marijuana and Buchart supplied his tenth Avenue S.E. tackle.
Cochrane went to his Falconridge residence after which to Buchart’s basement suite.
However he mentioned minutes after he entered, balaclava-wearing intruders stormed in, armed with a shotgun and handgun.
They retrieved Deakins from a bed room and made all three of them lie on the ground whereas one of many gunmen seemed for money and medicines within the basement suite earlier than going upstairs.
Whereas that assailant was upstairs, Deakins jumped the shotgun-toting intruder and Cochrane joined in, earlier than the person known as for his confederate to return assist.
Cochrane mentioned he was then knocked unconscious with a blow to his head and as he was coming to, he heard at the least one gunshot earlier than the intruders fled.
“I noticed Barry and Trevor laying on the ground. It seemed like they had been lifeless. I used to be actually scared,” he informed Der.
Cochrane, whose DNA was discovered on the scene and led to his arrest in December 2020, mentioned he was bleeding closely from a wound to his head.
He mentioned he fled the scene out of worry.
And he mentioned that very same worry prompted him to not report what he noticed to the police.
“I used to be afraid to be related to it and afraid the those that did it could discover out who I used to be,” he mentioned.
However beneath cross-examination, Crown prosecutor Carla MacPhail performed excerpts from Cochrane’s interview with police after he was charged with two counts of first-degree homicide when arrested Dec. 4, 2020.
In it, Cochrane repeatedly denied any information of the incident.
At one level a detective advised Cochrane knew what occurred as a result of he was one of many 4 individuals within the suite.
“I don’t have a f—— clue about what occurred,” Cochrane mentioned.
“You had been the truth is one of many intruders, you weren’t there innocently,” MacPhail advised.
“I disagree,” Cochrane mentioned.
MacPhail advised both Cochrane and his confederate shot Buchart and the opposite killed Deakins.
“I disagree,” he repeated.
In re-examination, Der requested his shopper why he lied to the police.
“I used to be informed to not cooperate with the police by a lawyer and an lawyer,” he mentioned.
Justice Keith Yamauchi will hear ultimate arguments within the case on Thursday.
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