Elijah Noname took the stand as the first witness for the defence in his own murder trial on Thursday morning.
He’s accused of second-degree murder in the death of Nolen Tanner at a Halloween party on Montreal Street back in 2013.
He testified that on the day of the murder, he had been attempting to sell a .22 pistol, as he was unemployed at the time.
Noname also gave background about how he got to the party. He says he was picked up some friends. There was an open invitation to the party on Facebook. He was carrying the pistol under his shirt.
He testified that he was drinking and smoking marijuana and did about 2 grams of cocaine. He said he was in the basement when a fight broke out outside. He went outside to see that his Andy had been beat up, he thought Andy was dead.
Noname says Nolen Tanner came up behind him and stabbed him once in the back. He said Tanner was still coming at him, so he stood and fired two shots at him from the gun
He said he pulled the trigger twice and then tried to get back to his friend Andy. He said he was scared.
He then left the party and dropped the gun near the train tracks and then went to the Creeland gas station where his mother works. He testified that his mother told him to turn himself in because he shot someone. He went home to wait for police.
He was taken into custody but was told by council to not confess or admit to anything until he spoke with a lawyer.
Noname says he wishes he had never gone to the party. He says he didn’t intend to kill anyone.
During cross-examination, the Crown asked Noname to clarify details from the party and asked him to define his state of mind after consuming drugs and alcohol.
Noname agreed with the Crown that his testimony differed from other witnesses in the case. He said it was a chaotic scene at the party, and that it was the worst day of his life.
The defence plans to call more witnesses. The trial is expected to wrap up early next week.
Based on a report by CTV's Katherine Hill
