Face in the courtroom: Larry Wellman's childhood friend takes in trial

Three rows back in the gallery of a St. John's courtroom sits a grey-haired man, his arms crossed, eyes fixated on the scene unfolding at Brandon Phillips's first-degree murder trial.

Rick Saunders, a boyhood friend of shooting victim Larry Wellman, was in the courtroom as video evidence showed the moment the 63-year-old was shot during an armed robbery.

"It's quite difficult. I'm stuck for words," Saunders told CBCNews outside the courthouse.

"I don't know what to say about it it's a shock."

Saunders had known Wellmansince he was sevenyears old. The boys lived just two doors down from each other.

"He was a couple years older than me," Saunders said.

"You're notallowedto play with the biggerboys, but once in a while you gettogetherfor a game of baseball."

Intervened in robbery

Brandon Phillips, 29, is accused of first-degree murder in the death of Wellman.

The Crown contends that Phillips is the man whose armed robbery was caught on surveillance camera at the Captain's Quarters Hotel on Oct. 3, 2015.

Video of the shooting was entered into evidence last week, and shows Wellman getting into an altercation with a masked gunman.

"That's something that Larry would have done," Saunders said. "It was inLarry'snature to help out. I don't think he suspected what was going to happen ofcourse no one would."

Saunders said Wellman helped get him a job as a firefighter in Corner Brook.

He reflects fondly on his childhood friend, who was a skilled salmon fisherman and a manwho enjoyed nothing more than a belly laugh and a good story.

Saunders wanted to be there to show his support for his old friend.

"I had to make the trip to St. John's anyway and I said, 'If there is anyway in the world that I can get here, I will sit in in [for] a day or two.'"

The 12-person jury has already heard emotional testimony from Wellman's widow, who was there the night her husband was shot, and the two officers who arrived first onthe scene.

The trial is expected to continue on Tuesday.

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ReadCBCNL's previous coverage of thetrial:

• Day 1: Brandon Phillips jury selection begins: What you need to know
• Day 2:Jury taking shape for trial of Brandon Phillips, accused in Captain's Quarters killing
• Day 2: Strategic selection: How the jury is chosen for Brandon Phillips trial
• Day 3:Jury, 2 alternates selected for Brandon Phillips 1st-degree murder trial
• Day 4:'Nobody be a f--king hero': Chilling video played at Brandon Phillips trial
• Day 5:'I told him I loved him': Widow's emotional last moments with Larry Wellman revealed in court
• Day 5: Police officer lay in pool of blood to comfort Larry Wellman in last moments
• Opinion:It's OK for cops to cry: A human moment at the Phillips trial