Lawyers prepare for 2nd trial in Hells Angels murder case

A murder case with ties to the Hells Angels is in Nova Scotia Supreme Court this week as lawyers haggle over issues before the actual trial.

Leslie Greenwood is charged with first-degree murder in the killings of Barry Kirk Mersereau and Nancy Paula Christensen. The couple was shot to death in their home in Centre Burlington, N.S., in September 2000.

Two men, Michael Lawrence and Curtis Blair Lynds, pleaded guilty to the killings and are serving life sentences. Lynds is the nephew of Hells Angel Jeffrey Lynds, who reportedly ordered the killings.

Greenwood was also found guilty of the two murders at a trial in 2012, but his conviction was overturned on appeal.

Trial scheduled for January

Two weeks have been set aside to discuss preliminary motions in the case.

As the hearing got underway Monday, Greenwood's Quebec-based lawyers indicated they would not be seeking a change of venue for the trial. It's scheduled to begin in January in Supreme Court in Kentville and last for six weeks.

Lawyers Elise Pinsonnault and Catherine Ranalli also said they would not be seeking to screen prospective jurors for any pretrial bias.

A legal culture clash emerged as the Crown prosecutors objected to Pinsonnault and Ranalli only filing electronic versions of their arguments. Pinsonnault told the court that's the way it's done in Quebec.

"It was like a snowstorm of electronic documents that were hard for the staff to put together," Justice Jamie Campbell noted.

Pinsonnault apologized and noted she'd come armed with stacks of printed documents which she then submitted to the court.

Pinsonnault wants Justice Campbell to consider a Jordan application — an argument that the case against Greenwood should be dismissed because it has taken too long to make its way through the system.

More charges in Quebec

As this case originally made its way through the Nova Scotia courts, Greenwood was also facing two charges of first-degree murder in Quebec. He was accused of acting as the getaway driver in the killings of Kirk Murray and Antonio Onesi in 2010.

Greenwood's trial on those charges ended in December 2015 with a hung jury. He is facing a retrial in Quebec in addition to the second trial here in Nova Scotia.