'He wanted more': Robber who shot Larry Wellman wanted cash from VLTs, court told
When bartender Janet Hutchings heard someone say "give me the money" she never thought she'd turn around and be face-to-face with a masked gunman who'd later shoot Larry Wellman.
Hutchings was the final witness for the Crown at the first-degree murder trial of Brandon Phillips at Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court in St. John's.
"I said I didn't have much money but would give him what I got," Hutchings told the 12-person jury.
"Take what I have. This is what I have," she recalled saying.
Hutchings opened up the cash register and placed the drawer on the counter in front of him — but not before taking the $20 bills and hiding them on the side of the register.
"Why did you do that?" Crown prosecutor Shauna McDonald asked.
"Because I didn't want him stealing all the money," Hutchings said, with a nervous laugh.
'That's when Larry intervened'
But what the masked man had in front of him wasn't enough, she told the jury.
"Did he take that money?" McDonald asked.
"No, he wanted more," she responded.
With that, the gunman cocked his gun, Hutchings said, raising her hands to mimic what she remembered.
"That's when Larry intervened and took his attention away from me."
Hutchings told the jury she knew Larry Wellman, 63, and his spouse Linda McBay, as well as another couple and Shawn Deeley, who were also at the bar on Oct. 3, 2015.
According to Hutchings, Wellman said, "What are you doing pointing a gun at a lady?"
With that, the man holding the gun turned his attention to Wellman, Hutchings said, and the two got into an altercation.
Hutchings said she saw the gunman raise his hands, then Wellman "came tumbling back in."
"He had to have hit him. Larry wasn't a small man," she said.
Wellman hit the deep freeze, the force taking the hat off his head, Hutchings said.
He composed himself and went back out to face the masked man, she said of Wellman's actions.
Man shot, robber leaves empty-handed
Video surveillance of the botched robbery and shooting was shown again to Hutchings and the jury.
As soon as the robber turns to Wellman, Hutchings is seen putting the drawer back in the cash, then standing motionless.
She later took Linda McBay's cell phone and went to the basement to call 911.
It wasn't until Hutchings heard McBay's cries for help that she came across a gruesome scene, she said.
"I heard Linda yell, 'Where is everybody? Somebody help me.'"
Tissue in hand, Hutchings turned her face away from the court as she composed herself.
"That's when I saw Larry on the floor."
In the remaining moments of the video angled behind the bar, the masked man in black is seen rummaging behind the cash as the faint sound of Larry Wellman's final words are picked up on the video.
"I love you," Wellman tells his spouse of 11 years.
With that, the robber gives up on his attempts and leaves empty-handed.
The jury will return to Supreme Court on Monday, when the defence will announce whether it will call any witnesses.
So far in the trial, the jury has:
- Seen security footage from the bar during the 2015 robbery
- Heard from Wellman's widow about the night her husband was killed
- Listened to testimony from Const. Barry Reynolds, the police officer who stayed with Wellman during his final moments
- Heard from Shawn Deeley, a former patron at the Captain's Quarters
- Received an update from Dr. Simon Avis, chief medical examiner for Newfoundland and Labrador, testified Wellman was killed by a single gunshot to the groin
- Been shown evidence such as a mask and shotgun that were collected after the shooting
- Learned that a single particle of gunshot residue was found on a hat discovered near the hotel
- Heard evidence that the alleged murder weapon discharged in testing without touching the trigger
- Been told DNA belonging to Phillips was found on hat, sneakers, shotgun shell
- Heard Premier Dwight Ball's apartment and cars were watched following the shooting
Want to follow the latest from the trial? Check out our live blog.
