The trial of Henry Pottie for the first degree murder of Jamie Leard got off to a slow start on Tuesday, with the jury dismissed about five minutes after taking their seats.
After Crown attorney Guillaume Rigucci gave his opening statement, Judge Robert Dysart asked the jury to leave the courtroom to allow for discussion of a legal issue. By noon, the jury was dismissed for the day, due to return on Wednesday.
CHMA can’t report on what took place in court while the jury was not present, due to a court-imposed publication ban.
In his brief opening statement, Rigucci outlined the Crown’s theory of what happened to Jamie Leard on May 25, 2021, which has yet to be proven in court.
Rigucci told the jury that Leard was shot and killed by two people shortly after arriving at his home on the evening of May 25, 2021. The attorney said six people were at the Leard residence that evening, including Leard, his roommate Sean Patterson, Henry Pottie, Angel Sears, Amanda Noiles, and her six-year-old child.
According to the Crown’s version of events, Amanda Noiles and her child were in the car with Leard when he arrived home. Rigucci said Noiles followed Leard inside his home, heard shots, and then saw the 38-year-old Leard fall backwards. Noiles then ran back to Leard’s car, followed shortly thereafter by Angel Sears, who had been inside the house.
Rigucci told the jury that Sean Patterson then came outside of the house and told both women to remain in the vehicle until it was safe to come inside. About half an hour later, according to the Crown attorney, he returned with Pottie and told the women it was safe to return.
Rigucci said he anticipated the Crown’s evidence would show that Patterson and Pottie had moved Leard’s body and cleaned up the murder scene. He also hoped to show that a few hours later Pottie sold the firearms used in the murder to unrelated third parties, and they were later recovered by the police.
The final part of the Crown’s theory involves what happened to Leard’s body after his murder.
Rigucci told the jury that in the days that followed the murder, Patterson and Pottie transported Leard’s body to a remote area by ATV and trailer, later burning it along with evidence from the murder scene.
Leard was first reported missing on May 28, 2021, and his remains were discovered after an extensive search on June 3, 2021.
Henry James Pottie was charged with first degree murder on June 6, 2021. Sean Patterson was also charged at the time, and last week pled guilty to second degree murder.
