(GLYNN BROTHEN / iNFOnews.ca)
March 10, 2015 - 7:30 PM
KAMLOOPS - An alleged gangster accused of shooting a drug-dealing "cannabis advocate" has told a jury in Kamloops that he was at home watching a romantic movie with his girlfriend when the incident occurred.
Adam Colligan, 28, is charged with aggravated assault and extortion with a firearm among other charges.
He is accused of shooting Al Powell in the knee in the midst of an attempted extortion on May 11, 2013.
Colligan took the stand in his own defence Tuesday, saying he could not have been involved because he was at home watching "The Notebook" with his girlfriend.
Colligan said under questioning by Crown lawyer Adrienne Murphy that he didn't know where he lived at the time, only that it was in a house in the North Shore part of Kamloops, "near the river."
He also told jurors he didn't know his cellphone number.
Murphy had Colligan remove his jacket and show jurors a tattoo on his forearm that reads "Kill or be killed," above two crossed handguns.
Colligan said he left the city the day after the shooting to work for a drywall company in the Lower Mainland. He was arrested a week later in Surrey and eventually charged.
His girlfriend, Ashton Durante, 21, told jurors she and Colligan spent the entire day together on May 11, 2013 — running errands, eating ribs and chicken wings, watching and "romance movies."
The jury has already heard from Powell, who admitted to being a marijuana dealer and "cannabis advocate" in Kamloops at the time of the shooting.
He said he was approached by Colligan and another man and told to buy his marijuana supply exclusively from them. Powell said he refused and was eventually pistol-whipped inside the bathroom of his home.
Court heard that during a struggle, the gun was fired, striking Powell in the knee.
Powell testified that Colligan and an associate showed him Independent Soldiers paraphernalia prior to the assault.
In court, Powell identified Colligan as the man who shot him.
Under cross-examination, however, defence lawyer Dale Melville pointed out that Powell initially told police he didn't know the name of his attacker.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2015