A 22-year-old Charlottetown man accused of taking part in the commission of a robbery and home invasion in Emyvale in May of 2012 took the stand in his own defence Friday in P.E.I. Supreme Court.
Derry Ian Bird denied having any involvement whatsoever in the robbery of convicted drug dealer Dean Fairhurst.
Bird testified he neither took part in the robbery nor in the planning for the robbery.
He said when this robbery was being committed he was at the residence of his parents in Stanhope.
During his direct evidence and under cross-examination he stated he had never been to Dean Fairhurst’s home and did not even know where in Emyvale it was located.
Bird, who’s currently serving a sentence in a federal correctional facility for drug trafficking, said he had left his parent’s residence on the day leading up to the robbery but was back home before dark and did not venture out again.
The robbery happened several hours later, at approximately 3 a.m.
Crown Prosecutor Cyndria Wedge asked Bird if another man charged in connection with this incident, Jason Yeo, had suggested that he (Bird) and Chase Roper rob Fairhurst.
Bird said that did not happen.
Roper has already pleaded guilty to the Fairhurst robbery and is serving time in prison for it.
He testified Monday that Bird was not his partner on the Fairhurst robbery, that it was a guy he’d just met named Slash.
Wedge also questioned Bird on Friday about a letter he wrote in which he did reference a robbery.
He said the robbery referred to in that letter was not the robbery at Dean Fairhurst’s house in Emyvale.
The robbery referred to in the letter related, Bird said, to an incident in which he and a second man robbed a different drug dealer of 30 Hydromorphone pills.
Bird said he didn’t know the drug dealer in question, but his friend did.
There were questions as well about who had access to his Facebook account in light of the fact a Facebook posting with an early morning time signature from the date of the robbery has been advanced as part of the defence.
Bird testified that his mother and several other people have had access to his Facebook account over the years.
Wedge questioned Bird on his involvement with drugs.
He testified that he had been an addict but was not an addict now.
When he was using drugs Bird said he liked marijuana and opiates like Dilaudid, Oxycontin and Hydromorphone but did use cocaine.
He testified that when he was dealing drugs he mostly tried to pay cash for them, but on occasion got them on credit.
Bird said he purchased no drugs on credit in 2012.
Bird’s parents, Angela and Michael Bird, were both on the stand Friday.
Angela Bird was called for cross-examination by the Crown.
Michael bird gave direct evidence and was cross-examined.
Both placed their son Derry at home.
They were questioned at length about their son’s movements around the time of the robbery and in the months leading up to it, with regards to where he was staying and who he was associating with.
They were questioned about his access to transportation.
Both recalled an incident around the time of the robbery in which Michael and Derry had an exchange of words over Derry and some friends smoking marijuana in the house and upsetting a tenant.
Both parents expressed disappointment with Derry’s involvement in the drug trade saying that that was not the kind of person they raised him to be.
Wedge is seeking a continuation of the trial to call rebuttal evidence.
She says there are three, possibly four people she would like to call.
Supreme Court Justice Campbell has adjourned the case to Dec. 17th to hear representations on that issue.
A 22-year-old Charlottetown man accused of taking part in the commission of a robbery and home invasion in Emyvale in May of 2012 took the stand in his own defence Friday in P.E.I. Supreme Court.
Derry Ian Bird denied having any involvement whatsoever in the robbery of convicted drug dealer Dean Fairhurst.
Bird testified he neither took part in the robbery nor in the planning for the robbery.
He said when this robbery was being committed he was at the residence of his parents in Stanhope.
During his direct evidence and under cross-examination he stated he had never been to Dean Fairhurst’s home and did not even know where in Emyvale it was located.
Bird, who’s currently serving a sentence in a federal correctional facility for drug trafficking, said he had left his parent’s residence on the day leading up to the robbery but was back home before dark and did not venture out again.
The robbery happened several hours later, at approximately 3 a.m.
Crown Prosecutor Cyndria Wedge asked Bird if another man charged in connection with this incident, Jason Yeo, had suggested that he (Bird) and Chase Roper rob Fairhurst.
Bird said that did not happen.
Roper has already pleaded guilty to the Fairhurst robbery and is serving time in prison for it.
He testified Monday that Bird was not his partner on the Fairhurst robbery, that it was a guy he’d just met named Slash.
Wedge also questioned Bird on Friday about a letter he wrote in which he did reference a robbery.
He said the robbery referred to in that letter was not the robbery at Dean Fairhurst’s house in Emyvale.
The robbery referred to in the letter related, Bird said, to an incident in which he and a second man robbed a different drug dealer of 30 Hydromorphone pills.
Bird said he didn’t know the drug dealer in question, but his friend did.
There were questions as well about who had access to his Facebook account in light of the fact a Facebook posting with an early morning time signature from the date of the robbery has been advanced as part of the defence.
Bird testified that his mother and several other people have had access to his Facebook account over the years.
Wedge questioned Bird on his involvement with drugs.
He testified that he had been an addict but was not an addict now.
When he was using drugs Bird said he liked marijuana and opiates like Dilaudid, Oxycontin and Hydromorphone but did use cocaine.
He testified that when he was dealing drugs he mostly tried to pay cash for them, but on occasion got them on credit.
Bird said he purchased no drugs on credit in 2012.
Bird’s parents, Angela and Michael Bird, were both on the stand Friday.
Angela Bird was called for cross-examination by the Crown.
Michael bird gave direct evidence and was cross-examined.
Both placed their son Derry at home.
They were questioned at length about their son’s movements around the time of the robbery and in the months leading up to it, with regards to where he was staying and who he was associating with.
They were questioned about his access to transportation.
Both recalled an incident around the time of the robbery in which Michael and Derry had an exchange of words over Derry and some friends smoking marijuana in the house and upsetting a tenant.
Both parents expressed disappointment with Derry’s involvement in the drug trade saying that that was not the kind of person they raised him to be.
Wedge is seeking a continuation of the trial to call rebuttal evidence.
She says there are three, possibly four people she would like to call.
Supreme Court Justice Campbell has adjourned the case to Dec. 17th to hear representations on that issue.