A Calgary murder suspect testified Wednesday that he was fighting for his life when he fatally shot a drug customer, claiming the victim and his girlfriend ambushed him during a drug deal gone wrong.
Paulos Berhe, 30, told a Court of King's Bench jury that he was the victim, not the perpetrator, when he fired his concealed handgun after his drug client, Donald Lyons, tried to shoot him over $9,000 worth of crack cocaine.
Details of the Incident
Berhe is charged with second-degree murder in the Dec. 18, 2023, death of Lyons, 43, and discharging a firearm with intent to wound the deceased's girlfriend, Amber Beach. The shooting occurred in the Forest Lawn area of Calgary.
According to Berhe, he met Lyons and Beach at the Portico Lounge in southeast Calgary to sell them a half-pound brick of crack cocaine. When he entered the back seat of Lyons' parked pickup truck, he heard the doors lock, and the couple turned on him.
“I started getting blows to the chest and my head,” Berhe testified, explaining that Beach attacked him with a knife. “I seen Amber Beach holding a blade.”
Berhe said he tried to fend off the knife and escape, but the door was locked. “That’s when I tried the door. It didn’t work, I realized I was trapped in the truck,” he said.
Lyons then threw a blanket over his head while Beach continued the assault. “It felt like a hammer was hitting me,” Berhe said. He managed to pull the blanket off only to face a more serious threat: “That’s when I seen Lyons putting a handgun to my face.”
Struggle for Survival
When asked what he thought, Berhe replied, “Excuse my language, ‘oh, f—, I’m about to die.'” Lyons twice pulled the trigger of the revolver, but it failed to discharge. Berhe then struggled with Lyons for the weapon while Beach continued stabbing him.
“Somehow I managed to put my hand in my pocket and fired my handgun towards their direction,” he said. At that point, Beach exited the front passenger door, which unlocked his door, allowing him to flee. However, after moving 10 to 15 steps from the truck, Berhe turned back to retrieve his drugs and also took the revolver that had fallen to the floor.
Prosecution and Defense Arguments
In his opening address to jurors last week, Crown prosecutor Peter Mackenzie called the double shooting a “drug deal gone wrong,” stating that Lyons had arranged to buy drugs from Berhe, but when the accused got in the pickup, he shot both victims. In contrast, defense lawyer Allan Fay told jurors that his client was acting in self-defense. “He was attacked by two desperate drug addicts,” Fay said. “Even drug dealers are entitled to defend themselves.”
The trial continues.
