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Did a citizen of Saint-Raymond take out a firearm fearing the presence of a stranger on his land or did he attack without reason a fisherman who was simply in the river which borders his ground? This is the question that a judge will have to decide after a trial that resembles a fishing story which was held on Wednesday in Quebec.
Christian Couillard, 66, faces four counts of pointing a firearm, in addition to another of criminal harassment.
According to the Crown’s theory, the resident of Saint-Raymond, in Portneuf, would have pointed his weapon in the direction of a man who was fishing in the river which borders his house on June 1, 2021.
The complainant in this case, originally from Saguenay, told Judge Julie Roy that he had rented a chalet near the accused’s residence with work colleagues for the duration of a construction contract. One evening, after work, he went to the Mauvaise River to fish for trout, but instead found himself “sighted by a rifle”.
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“He was aiming at me”
“He came out blazing naked, shouting at me that I had no right to be there,” said Anthony Larouche about the accused, claiming to have noticed that he was naked despite the distance of “200 to 300 meters” because of the size of his penis.
“It was pretty impressive,” the witness said, adding that it was “over 12 inches, easy.”
In the following moments, Couillard returned with his weapon, pointing it directly at the fisherman. A rifle “about three feet long,” said the witness, mimicking the size with his hands as he would have done for a good shot.
“The barrel was pointed forward, the weapon resting on his shoulder. He was aiming at me,” assured the 27-year-old man, who explained that he fled through the grounds of a chalet on the other side of the river before going to alert the owner of the residence he was renting. It was the latter who then contacted the police.
Fears
Christian Couillard’s version of events is very different.
The 66-year-old accused admits to having stopped the man in the river while he was naked on his balcony, having come out “to urinate”. The fisherman then violently insulted him before leaving the river in the other direction to return via a nearby bridge. He would have presented himself on his land, “about 150 feet away”, with “an aggressive gait”.
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“When I saw it, I did nothing, I took the weapon,” the accused testified about the non-functional sawed-off rifle that a police officer described Wednesday as “having more than “looks more like a handgun than a rifle.”
Couillard then raised the weapon, but towards the sky, he assures. Out of fear, to protect oneself.
“I’m not saying it was the smartest move of my life, but I didn’t point it at him.”
And as for the length of his penis, his lawyer, Richard-Philippe Guay, had to ask him, given the testimony of the complainant: “Five or six inches,” confided the accused, visibly uncomfortable.
“It’s not 12 inches anyway,” he added, stifling a nervous laugh.
Versions divergentes
So who’s telling the truth? This is the question that Judge Julie Roy will have to decide by assessing the credibility of the witnesses in this story.
For the defense, the testimony of the complainant who says he saw the length of the accused’s penis at “200, 300 meters”, but who misunderstands the type of weapon that was pointed at him “does not hold water” .
While during the prosecution, contradictions were raised between the testimonies of Christian Couillard and that of his partner, particularly regarding the sequence of events. Manon Audy, among other things, recounted having brought underwear to her partner who shouted to her that a man wanted to tear off his head, while the accused explained having put on the underwear brought by his wife even before the no one comes to his house.
Furthermore, the complainant says he has never set foot on Christian Couillard’s land, which is consistent with “common sense”, according to the pursuer.
“The defense, as a whole, contradicts itself. Why would the complainant have taken the long way around by a bridge when he could have crossed the river on foot and settled his scores directly?” questioned the Crown prosecutor Me Fabien Villemaire, considering that the alleged victim had a very good could have been mistaken about elements such as the distance of the man who was pointing a weapon at him, the length of the latter or that of his penis.
“We have to ask ourselves what struck the complainant the most that day. He tells you: “He pulled a gun on me.” That’s what marked him.”
Judge Julie Roy took the case under advisement and will deliver her verdict next August. It is already accepted that the Crown has discharged its burden on the charge of possession of a prohibited weapon, but the defense still hopes to have Christian Couillard acquitted on the other four counts.
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