Calgary murder suspect Paulos Berhe denied Thursday that the fatal shooting of a city man and the wounding of his girlfriend were the result of a robbery attempt by the accused.
During cross-examination of Berhe, Crown prosecutor Peter Mackenzie suggested the accused's claim he shot Donald Lyons and Amber Beach in self-defence was a fabrication. Instead, Mackenzie suggested, Berhe never intended to sell Lyons a half brick of cocaine for $9,000 but simply wanted to take the cash by force.
Berhe testified he met Lyons in the parking lot of the Portico Lounge in southeast Calgary after arranging to sell him a significant amount of the illicit drug. He said when he got in Lyons' pickup he was attacked by Beach with a knife and his purchaser then pulled a revolver and attempted to shoot him.
Mackenzie suggested the truth was Lyons and Beach were victims of a robbery, not the perpetrators of one. 'I'm going to suggest to you at that point you produced your handgun and you shot Amber in the shoulder and you shot Don Lyons in the arm and in the throat to rob them, isn't that true?' Mackenzie said. 'That's not true,' Berhe replied.
Berhe, 30, is charged with second-degree murder in the Dec. 18, 2023, fatal shooting of Lyons. He is also accused of discharging a firearm with intent to wound Beach.
On Wednesday, Berhe told a Calgary Court of King's Bench jury he was in a life and death situation after entering Lyons' truck for the purpose of handing over the cocaine and receiving the $9,000 payment. He said the door locks were engaged, trapping him in the back seat before Beach began stabbing him and a blanket was thrown over his head. When he managed to get the blanket off, Lyons was pointing a handgun at him and twice pulled the trigger, he told defence counsel Allan Fay.
But Mackenzie suggested that version of events was a fabrication on Berhe's part. The prosecutor provided a theory that Berhe never brought the drugs to the pickup, instead leaving them with his supplier, known as Bubbles in the drug trade, who was parked nearby. After shooting the two victims, Berhe fled, but immediately returned to the pickup to retrieve the shell casings from his gun and look for the $9,000 in the console of the vehicle, Mackenzie suggested. 'I'm going to suggest that (Bubbles) was there to back you up in this transaction,' Mackenzie said. 'That's not true,' Berhe replied.
Jurors will hear final submissions from Mackenzie and Fay next Tuesday before getting final instructions on the law from Justice David Labrenz and beginning their deliberations.
