Witness who said Devontay Hackett 'might erupt' questioned over changing story

A Crown witness who said he had a "feeling something might erupt" with accused murdererDevontayHackettin the days leading up to a fatal prom night stabbing was askedMonday why he never mentionedHackettwhen he first spoke with police.

• Witnesses recount last moments of Brandon Volpi's life

Mauricio Rodriguez testified at Hackett's second-degree murder trial that he was also attacked outside Les Suites Hotel on the June 2014 night Brandon Volpi was fatally stabbed.

He told the court Mondaythat before he was attacked, he had a "feeling something might erupt" with Hackett, who he had confronted about a stolen cellphone the week before.

"I had a bad feeling. I sensed something bad," said Rodriguez, now 20.

Volpi, 18, was killed outside the hotel on Besserer Street, where students were gathering for an afterparty, around 3:30 a.m. on June 7, 2014.

The Crown has argued that Volpi was stabbed while coming to Rodriguez's aid and trying to quell tensions over the stolen cellphone. Hackett, who was 18 at the time and is now 21, is on trial for second-degree murder in the case.

Mind 'slightly boggled' after attack

During cross-examination, defence lawyer Joseph Addelman asked Rodriguez why, when police showed up at his door at 8:30 a.m. that morning, he never mentioned Hackett by name.

Addelman added that only later that night did Rodriguez contact police and provide Hackett's name as the man he feared outside the hotel.

When asked why he suddenly remembered the name, Rodriguez replied that he "kept seeingHackett'sname popping up on social media," even though the social media posts weren't connected toVolpi'sdeath.

Rodriguez said hehad good reasons why he didn't remember Hackett's name in the hoursafter the stabbing.

"I hadn't had any sleep," Rodriguez testified. "I'd been hit on head several times and my mind was slightly boggled."

Rodriguezhad earlier told the court he was diagnosed with a major concussion and a brain hemorrhage.

Addelman reminded Rodriguez that he told police he didn't remember a lot of what happened that day, and put to him that much of his testimony Tuesday relied on details filled in by friends and posts on social media not his own memories.

But Rodriguez explained thathis memoriesabout the prom night incident did come back to him later in the day.

'I will always have your back'

Earlier Rodriguez had testified at length about the circumstances leading up to the prom night night.

One week before the prom, Rodriguez asked Hackett, who attended St. Pius X High School, if he knew about a friend's missing cellphone.

Hackett "instantly reacted very hostile toward me," Rodriguez testified, adding that he seemed to reach for his waist. "He seemed aggressive and ready to attack."

But he said Hackett's friend led Hackett away from thatconfrontation. The following week, Rodriguez celebrated his prom at Camp Fortune, along with students from St. Pius X High School, including Hackett.

When the buses were leaving Camp Fortune, Rodriguez noticed Hackett staring at him, though the pair didn't talk, he testified.

When he got off the bus downtown on Daly Avenue, Rodriguez said he was attacked from behind.

"I got a blow to the back of my head on the left side," he testified. He said he didn't recognize his attacker, who smashed a bottle over his head with a second blow.

"It felt so surreal, I just kept running," he said. He said he made it inside the lobby of Les Suites Hotel but was afraid to continue on to the nearby Novotel, where he was sharing a room with three friends.

Volpi offered to walk him to his hotel, saying, "I will always have your back," Rodriguez recalled.

'Everything went black'

Rodriguez said was accompanied outside by Volpi and a few others. He said his group was confronted by another group of teens, including Hackett. He said someone standing behind Hackett threw a bottle at him, then another personhead-butted him.

"Everything went very high pitched in my ears, andeverything went black," he said.

His next memory is being inside the hotel, he said. He saidfirefighters arrived and were "trying to calm me down" before he went to hospital.

Rodriguez's cross-examination is expected to continue Tuesday.