Coutts murder-conspiracy trial hears covert late-night shipment to protesters was underwear, guitar

Police suspected 2 COVID-19 protesters astatine Coutts, Alta., were group to person a covert, late-night shipment of guns, but a courier told tribunal Wednesday it was socks, underwear and a guitar.

Jaclyne Martin made nan remark while testifying astatine nan Court of King’s Bench proceedings of Anthony Olienick and Chris Carbert, who are charged pinch colluding to termination constabulary astatine nan separator blockade.

Martin said she and her partner handed disconnected equipment successful a camouflage container to Olienick and Carbert successful a farmer’s section adjacent Coutts successful February 2022, conscionable days earlier constabulary made raids and arrests that ended nan standoff.

“We were picking up socks and underwear, a grinder (hand-held powerfulness tool) and a guitar,” Martin told tribunal nether questioning from Olienick’s lawyer, Marilyn Burns.

“When I arrived (at nan driblet site), I saw a achromatic SUV parked, still running,” she added.

“Two females (were) connected nan inside. The interior ray was on, truthful I could spot them. I saw Chris Carbert and Tony Olienick opinionated talking to nan females successful nan SUV.”

She said she drove past them into a 2nd field, turned her motortruck around, backed onto a elevation pinch nan headlights connected and waited.

After nan women left, Martin said, she handed astir of nan equipment complete to Olienick and Carbert.

“The guitar stayed successful nan truck,” she added.

Martin’s grounds is group against grounds delivered earlier successful nan proceedings by female undercover constabulary officers who infiltrated nan blockade disguised arsenic chap protesters.

One of those officers testified to a speech she and her undercover partner had pinch Olienick successful which they asked him if he needed them to prime up anything.

She said Olienick replied that he had a package coming in. When they asked if it was guns, Olienick and Carbert made oculus interaction pinch each different and didn’t contradict it, nan serviceman said. She said she took that arsenic silent confirmation that nan shipment was weapons.

Police person presented grounds that they recovered guns, ammunition and assemblage armour adjacent nan blockade site. They later seized much guns on pinch ammunition and 2 tube bombs astatine Olienick’s acreage.

During cross-examination by Crown charismatic Steven Johnston, Martin said she faces criminal charges stemming from nan blockade, which tied up postulation for 2 weeks astatine nan engaged Canada-U.S. separator crossing successful protestation of COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates.

She said she was charged pinch mischief complete $5,000 and possessing a limb vulnerable to nan nationalist peace.

The Crown lawyer and nan witnesser sewage into a number of heated exchanges complete nan prosecution of Olienick and Carbert and nan existent communicative of what transpired astatine Coutts.

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“I conscionable deliberation it’s senseless,” Martin said.

“You consciousness powerfully astir this prosecution?” asked Johnston.

“Of course. It’s impacting my life successful a antagonistic way,” she said.

Martin said she was asked to attest and thought it was important to connection her truth.

Johnston suggested to her location were immoderate things she whitethorn not person been alert of astatine Coutts.

Martin changeable back, “There’s immoderate communicative that you were missing arsenic well.”

“Is that a gotcha infinitesimal for you?” countered Johnston.

“It’s not.”

“You want to reason pinch me? You’re choosing to reason pinch me?” said Johnston.

“There are parts of nan communicative that were missing,” she said.

Burns wrapped up her lawsuit Wednesday. Olienick did not testify.

The Crown has based on nan accused were intent connected sidesplitting Mounties to support nan blockade intact.

One undercover serviceman testified Olienick characterized constabulary arsenic pawns of “devil” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and told them if constabulary tried to unopen down nan blockade he would “slit their throats.”

Burns has told nan assemblage Olienick was portion of a group who believed they had a work to enactment against a totalitarian authorities seeking to extremity individual freedoms.