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CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN
Victim testifies at attempted murder trial
Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca
The victim of a shooting two-and-a-half years ago gave a markedly different story than what had been heard so far when he took the stand Wednesday at the attempted murder trial for Bradley Douglas Barr, 35.
Craig Frederick Lyver, 42, testified he was shot five times, not three times as the court had been told previously, and denied he was aiming a shotgun at the accused prior to Barr pulling the trigger on his own shotgun during an incident Sept. 20, 2012 on a 2800-block North-wood Pulp Mill Road property.
Lyver maintained he had left his shotgun leaning against a pile of tires he had been sitting on when he got up to walk towards Barr shortly after the accused and his girlfriend drove onto the property in a pickup truck.
In taped conversations previously played in court, Barr had said he pulled a shotgun out of the pickup’s back seat after Lyver aimed a shotgun at him. In response, Barr said he shot Lyver three times in an effort to disarm him.
Barr said the first shot struck Lyver in a leg, then, as he was lying on his stomach on the ground, shot him in the hip and finally in the arm he was holding the gun before he finally let go.
Barr said he then picked up the shotgun Lyver had been holding and left the scene in the pickup truck.
But on Wednesday, Lyver insisted he was shot five times, with the first round hitting him in the right arm. Lyver immediately grabbed his right wrist with his other hand to hold it up and turned to run away from Barr, the court heard.
But Lyver said he progressed maybe two or three feet before he was then hit in the left hip and then upper left leg. Lyver said he then fell to the ground and, as he was lying on his back, Barr shot him twice more in his right leg.
“He looked at me and said ‘why shouldn’t I kill you right now?’” Lyver said.
“I said ‘bro, I love ya,’ and off he went.”
Consistent with Barr’s statements, Ly-
CITIZEN FILE PHOTO
Emergency personnel treat Craig Frederick Lyver's gunshot injuries at a home in the 2800-block of Northwood Pulp Mill Road on Sept. 20, 2012.
ver said the accused picked up the other shotgun before leaving the scene.
Once Barr was gone, Lyver crawled towards the road and waved down a passerby, he told the court.
Lyver said he had been upset with Barr because he was not doing his share of the work on a marijuana grow operation on the property. But he said they had agreed to part ways, with Barr moving his personal items off the property where he had been living.
Instead, Lyver said he had been expecting Jason Hall, then a well-known figure in the local organized crime scene, to show up for a fist fight after he had accused Hall of stealing some possessions from his 2200-block Bedard Road home the night before.
Lyver said he rode to the scene on Hall’s motorcycle with a short-barrel shotgun tucked down the back of his hoodie. But in contrast to testimony heard earlier in the trial, Lyver said Hall had loaned him the bike and was not riding it to “piss off” Hall.
Asked by defence lawyer Keith Aartsen why he was taking a shotgun to a fist fight, Lyver said they all carried shotguns, particularly when going to a grow operation holding roughly $250,000 worth of marijuana.
When he arrived, Lyver said he found
all of the mature and nearly mature plants missing, adding up to about $20,000 in value. There were no signs of forced entry. As well, there were signs that Barr was moving off the property, where he had been living for about two months after he was evicted from a previous home.
“One and one is two. Obviously, Brad took it,” Lyver said.
Lyver said the shotgun he had brought with him was loaded, with a shell in the chamber, and with the safety off. But Lyver said he “didn’t even touch it” and was surprised when Barr got out of his truck and started shooting.
Lyver and Barr refused to look at each either when Lyver first walked into the courtroom. Lyver was testy as he fielded questions from Crown prosecutor Joseph Temple and then confrontational under cross-examination from Aartsen who worked to cast doubt on Lyver’s credibility.
Lyver admitted he did “one or two lines” of methamphetamine over the previous night. Aartsen asserted he did much more, and suggested Lyver was so high he was unable to fire his weapon as he aimed it at Barr.
Hall, who was murdered March, never showed up at the scene, the court has heard.
Farmers' market set to open, despite conflict
Charelle EVELYN Citizen staff cevelyn@pgcitizen.ca
Saturday marks the beginning of the outdoor season for local farmers’ markets, but the city is still trying to dust off its own market plan.
This winter, the city began developing the concept of a central market zone centred on city hall and Veterans’ Plaza where the Prince George Farmers’ Market, Wilson Square Community Market and other community events could set up.
But a March 30 decision by city council granted a highway occupancy permit for Third Avenue at George Street to the Wilson Square Community Market Association for the year, after the group protested moving to the city hall space, means the public market concept is currently in flux.
“We’re working on that to see how we can accommodate certain users,” said Ian Wells, the city’s general manager of planning and development.
According to the original proposal, sections of George Street and Sixth and Seventh Avenues adjacent to city hall would be closed to vehicles on market Saturdays to allow for more than 200 vendor spaces with the green space open to the public.
“I guess we’ll look at it and see how much land we actually need for this, make sure that we’re not just creating inconveniences for the public,” Wells said.
For the time being the Prince George Farmers’ Market, which was in favour of the public market concept, will add about 30 additional seasonal vendors to fill out its outdoor space, said PGFMA president Randall Stasiuk.
The market, in its 20th year, operates year round at its 1074 Sixth Ave. location beside The Keg and has a focus on locally sourced or made goods. It’s open from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., and will feature live music, barbecue and regular events through the season.
The Wilson Square Community Market is also beginning its outdoor season outside the Prince George courthouse on May 2. Between 8:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., about 30 vendors will be available.
Prince George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond will be on hand for a ribbon and cake cutting.
There are a variety of events lined up throughout the month of May, including a seed competition beginning May 16 and an art day on May 30, said Wilson Square Community Market’s Maria Pennock.
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