'I thought I was going to die that day': Teens testify former MLA Derek Fildebrandt uttered threats
CBC
Former MLA Derek Fildebrandt's trial got underway Wednesday with testimony from three teenaged boys who said he threatened to shoot them and chased them in his pickup truck.
"I was really scared, I thought I was going to die that day," said 13-year-old Marcus.
CBC News is not using the surnames of the underage witnesses. They will be identified as Marcus, Daniel and John.
The trial is scheduled to run two days.
During his arrest, Fildebrandt, 38, told police he chased the kids because he believed they had vandalized a "No Peeing On My Lawn" dog sign.
The three boys testified remotely at Fildebrandt's trial on four charges of uttering death threats stemming from an incident earlier this year.
The alleged events happened on April 13. The boys said they were celebrating John's 14th birthday that day.
The group had gone paintballing and then arrived back at John's home in the southwest community of Crestmont for dinner and cake.
Afterward, the boys decided to head to a nearby gas station for snacks around 9 p.m.
A fifth friend texted the group asking to join.
The witnesses testified the group waited for her in front of Fildebrandt's house for a few minutes, talking among themselves and playing on their smartphones.
The three boys each said that after a few minutes, they noticed Fildebrandt peeking out of his window at them.
"We were getting weird looks from him out his window," said John.
Daniel testified he understands why the group standing outside a house at night could "look suspicious," but none of them touched anything on Fildebrandt's property.
