Drug trafficker testifies at home invasion trial
A convicted drug trafficker testified Thursday that the drug trade on P.E.I. has ruined his life and the lives of others.
Micah MacDougall, 21, is testifying at a Supreme Court trial into a home invasion in Emyvale last May in which drug addicts robbed a drug dealer at gunpoint.
MacDougall testified he and the defendant in the trial, 22-year-old Derry Ian Bird, attended meetings where plans for the home invasion were discussed.
MacDougall didn't take part in the home invasion, but was arrested later for drug trafficking in an unrelated incident.
He told court he was a heavy user of cocaine and marijuana.
He said his drug trafficking devastated his family and ended his hopes to pursue a career in the military.
MacDougall served time in prison and is now on day parole.
Bird has pleaded not guilty to charges in connection with the home invasion.
Thursday afternoon, the trial will hear testimony from the RCMP officer who investigated the crime.
In court Wednesday afternoon, two women who were also involved in the home invasion testified about the role that drug addiction played in their crimes.
The women, Jennifer Wakelin, 22 and Kaylee McLean, 20, said they were snorting cocaine and popping pills the night of the incident.
They said it was a desperate need for money and drugs that made them do it.
Wakelin's boyfriend is Chase Roper, who was sentenced in June to four years in prison for his role in the robbery.
McLean's boyfriend at the time was Bird.
The women said they waited in a car while Bird and Roper committed the armed robbery.
They also testified that the two men wore T-shirts over their faces.
Bird carried a sawed off shot gun and Roper carried a handgun, but neither was loaded, said the women.
The women testified their boyfriends came back to the car carrying bags of cocaine, Dilaudid pills and cash.
But the women also testified none of them had wanted to rob the drug dealer. They said their boyfriends were pressured into it by another man because they owed him thousands of dollars.
The women said they're making progress on their addictions and have been clean for months. One is in a methadone program.
Both pleaded guilty to break and enter in October and are serving four-month jail sentences for their roles in the incident.
Defence lawyer Brendan Hubley suggested both women are incriminating Bird in exchange for their short sentences. Hubley also suggested McLean was incriminating Bird in retribution for the subsequent breakup for their relationship.
Both women denied Hubley's suggestions.
Another man, Jason Yeo, also faces charges in connection with the robbery. He has pleaded not guilty and will be tried next year.
