Attemped murder jury hears about armed standoff

The jury in the attempted murder trial of Benjamin Nason heard Thursday from police officers who responded toa 14-hour armed standoff with the accused, in the Frederictonarea, in January.

Nason, 38, of Beaver Dam, is accused of tryingto kill his former lover Beth Ann Wallace, 40, whosuffered a single gunshot woundto her upper body, outside her Lincoln Heights home on Jan. 29.

RCMP Sgt. John Welcher, who was in charge of the emergency response team, toldtheCourt of Queen's Benchthe28-member unit was calledto Nason's homeatabout 3:40 a.m.

Police had already cordoned off the area, because Nason was inside the home with several weapons, Welcher said.

Earlier testimony has indicated Nason left Lincoln Heights in his Ford Explorer and drove tohis home at 2711 Route 101 in Beaver Dam.

RCMPnegotiator Sgt. Lyne Couture told the seven-man, five-woman jury that Nason was suicidal, had a gun beside him, and repeatedly asked to speak to the victim, who was recovering in hospital.

Couture also testified that Nason had said he had consumedthree to four beers.

Nason gave himself up at about 4 p.m., 14 hours after the standoff began, she said, as the accused sat quietly in the prisoner's box, listening attentively but showing little emotion.

The courtroom also heard that Fredericton police seizedsecurity camerafootage of the front door of Nason's home, which showed the accused leaving the home with a rifle that had a scope, on Jan. 29 at about 1:02 a.m.

The video shows Nason returning to the home with the rifle at about 2:28 a.m., said Det. Phil Huskins, of the Fredericton Police Force.

Called former girlfriends

On Wednesday, two of Nason's former girlfriends took the stand. Lisa Payne, who had an eight-year relationship with Nason, and has an adolescent daughter with him, told the court she received a call from Nason around 4:30 a.m. on Jan. 29.

She said Nason wanted her to telltheir daughter that he loved her, and he will always be her father.He was basically saying goodbye, she said.

During that phone call,Payne asked the accused, 'What did you do?'. She testified that Nason said "I shot Beth, but I am not sure I hit her."

Payne said she urgedNason to give himself up.

Another former girlfriend,Samantha Howe, who has a young daughter with Nason, testified hecalled her at about 5 a.m.

Howesaid he told her that he loved his daughter, that hehadn'tbeen a good father, and warned her things are going to get worse.

'If I can't have you, no one can'

Dr. Aldo Giovannoni, the emergency room doctor who treated Wallace, testified that Wallace was hit in the back, near her shoulder. There was extensive damage and a lot of bleeding, he said.

Only the skin and the tricep muscle remained of the upper part of the arm,said Giovannoni.

Wallace testified on Tuesday that she hasundergone seven surgeries to repair her arm, andstill requires additional surgeries.

She told the courtroom she met Nason in 2009 when he came to do renovations. They had a casual intimate relationship, she said, but weren't emotionally involved.

On Jan. 29, at about 1:30 a.m., Nason rang her doorbell and when she opened the door she saw he had a rifle, Wallace said. He forced his way in, put the rifle to her cheek and nose and told her, "If I can't have you, no one can," she testified.

Wallace said Nason hit her with the butt end of the rifle, twice, in the chest, then pulled her to the master bedroom. She then got to her cordless phone and started to dial 911.

But Nason heard the beeping and he grabbed the phone, she said. That's when she managed to gethold of the rifle, totry to fire it until there were no bullets left in it, butshe couldn't, she testified.

Wallace said she ran down the stairs, out of the house and down the driveway. She heard a gunshot and felt a warm substance gushing down her body as she was turning to the neighbour's house.

She felt her arm, which shedescribed as a mushy mess.

The Crown expects to call its final witnessa ballistics experton Friday. The defence is expected to begin presenting its case on Monday.

The trial, which began on Aug. 19, is expected to take about two weeks.