The fatal shooting of a city man was the result of a drug robbery gone wrong, a Calgary murder suspect admitted Wednesday.<\/p>\n
But Paulos Berhe told a Court of King\u2019s Bench jury he was the victim, not the perpetrator of the would-be heist.<\/p>\n
He feared for his life, he said, when he wildly pulled the trigger of his concealed handgun after his drug client, Donald Lyons, tried to shoot him over $9,000 worth of crack cocaine.<\/p>\n
Berhe, 30, is charged with second-degree murder in the Dec. 18, 2023, death of Lyons and discharging a firearm with intent to wound the deceased\u2019s girlfriend.<\/p>\n
He met Lyons, and the dead man\u2019s girlfriend, Amber Beach, when he showed up at the Portico Lounge in southeast Calgary to sell him a half-pound brick (about 226 grams) of the illicit substance.<\/p>\n
But he said when he got into the back seat of Lyons\u2019 parked pickup truck he heard the doors lock and Beach and her boyfriend turned towards him and attacked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started getting blows to the chest and my head,\u201d he told defence lawyer Allan Fay, explaining Beach came at him with a knife.<\/p>\n
\u201cI seen Amber Beach holding a blade.\u201d<\/p>\n
Berhe said he tried to fend off the knife and escape.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s when I tried the door. It didn\u2019t work, I realized I was trapped in the truck,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Lyons then threw a blanket over his head while Beach continued to assault him, Berhe testified.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt felt like a hammer was hitting me.\u201d<\/p>\n
He managed to pull the blanket off only to face a more serious threat.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s when I seen Lyons putting a handgun to my face,\u201d the accused said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you thinking?\u201d Fay asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cExcuse my language, \u2018oh, f\u2014, I\u2019m about to die.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Lyons twice pulled the trigger of the revolver, but it failed to discharge.<\/p>\n
He began struggling with Lyons for the weapon while Beach continued stabbing him, Berhe said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomehow I managed to put my hand in my pocket and fired my handgun towards their direction,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
At that point Beach exited the front passenger door, which unlocked his door and he fled.<\/p>\n
But after moving 10 to 15 steps from Lyons\u2019 truck, Berhe turned around to retrieve his drugs and also took the revolver that had fallen to the floor.<\/p>\n
In his opening address to jurors last week, Crown prosecutor Peter Mackenzie called the double shooting a \u201cdrug deal gone wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said Lyons had arrange to buy an illicit substance from Berhe, but when the accused got in his pickup she shot both victims.<\/p>\n
In his opening statement, Fay told jurors his client was acting in self-defence.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was attacked by two desperate drug addicts,\u201d Fay said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven drug dealers are entitled to defend themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n