Lawyer accuses witness of ‘making up’ shooting claim

A woman denied a defence lawyer’s suggestion during a firearms trial that she “made up a story” about her ex-boyfriend firing a gun into a door she was hiding behind because she believed he was cheating on her.

Michael Prince, 23, pleaded not guilty to the charges of assault, reckless discharge of a firearm, and possession of a firearm and ammunition while being prohibited on Monday ahead of his scheduled four-day trial in Brandon’s Court of King’s Bench.

Prince’s ex-girlfriend, who is the alleged victim, testified that she and Prince had been dating for roughly four years and living together in Brandon at the time of the allegations.

She testified that in the weeks leading up to the incident, they had been having disputes. On March 26, 2023, the couple got into an argument.

“Once we started … arguing, I just went to the bathroom and locked the door,” she said, adding that she didn’t come out until she was sure he was gone. She said she spent the rest of the night at Prince’s sister’s house.

When she went home the next day, they started to argue again, she said.

“That’s when I went to the bathroom,” she said. “I was already freaking out ’cause I knew it was going to happen again.”

She recorded a video from inside the bathroom, in which a man’s voice can be heard along with banging on the door.

“It was that first bang, and then after some seconds, then it was just the door getting hit like crazy,” she said.

He eventually “busted” through the door, and they began to “wrestle,” which caused her to fall into the bathtub, she testified.

“I went to my bedroom. That’s when I managed to call … 911. I was already, like, hyperventilating,” she said. When Prince realized she called 911, she said he grabbed his jacket and left.

She said she called because she was worried he was going to hurt himself since he had threatened to several times during their arguments. Police showed up at her house and said they were going to look for Prince, but she said she made no mention of a gunshot.

The room was left a mess, and she saw what appeared to be a bullet hole in the bathroom door, she said. She testified that she called her older sister, and when she came over for support, they found “shell casings.”

The sisters packed up Prince’s belongings, which included a firearm, and dropped them off at his sister’s house before going to the Brandon Police Service station, where she provided a statement and gave the shells to police for evidence.

During cross-examination, defence lawyer Philip Sieklicki asked about the argument they were having and said he understood there were allegations of infidelity on both sides, which the woman agreed with.

“So, there was a little bit of emotion, a little bit of maybe jealousy on your part about these other girls at the time, right?” Sieklicki said.

“No, not really. It was kind of heartbreaking,” she responded.

Sieklicki questioned her about whether the hole had been in the door previously and suggested that something other than a gun could have caused it. She said she knew it wasn’t there before and doubted it was caused by anything but a gun.

He asked her if she heard a loud gunshot or smelled smoke. She said she didn’t, but that she had heard him shoot the gun at her mattress before, and it wasn’t loud.

“I’m going to suggest you’re making a lot of assumptions here … and you’re doing everything you can in order to try and suggest that Mr. Prince shot a bullet at the door, even though you don’t know that was the case,” Sieklicki said.

He suggested that she had gone to the police and “made up a story that he shot at the door” because she was upset about the infidelity.

She denied the lawyer’s suggestions.

The woman’s sister also testified and shared a similar version of events, adding that her husband and other younger sister had come to the residence and police station with them as well.

Prince’s sister, Laurissa, confirmed during her testimony that the women dropped off her brother’s belongings at her residence in Brandon but said she couldn’t recall whether she had been at her house the evening before.

Const. Karen Raga and Const. Kristofer Hearn with BPS also testified.

Hearn said he responded to the woman’s call about Prince and that she told him he was suicidal. He patrolled the area looking for Prince with no luck, so he went to the woman’s apartment and spoke with her briefly, he testified.

Hearn located Prince through a phone number the woman gave him and asked if he could take him to the hospital. Prince said he could get there himself, Hearn testified.

The police station later received a call from Prince, who said he wanted to speak with Hearn, and when he reached him, he said he was now ready to go to the hospital and asked for a ride, which Hearn agreed to, he said.

He dropped Prince off at the hospital and later spoke with the alleged victim and her sister, where they shared what allegedly happened.

Raga was involved in the search of Prince’s belongings at Laurissa’s house. She took photos of Prince’s items for evidence, including a .22-calibre long gun, bear spray, two CO2 handguns and what appeared to be a ballistic vest.

The trial continues.

» sanderson@brandonsun.com