Witness had told police Anaquod made threats

But woman who was in the house during standoff can no longer recall details

Sitting in the witness box, Jocelynn Mckay remained tight-lipped when questioned about the events of Oct. 23, 2017, the date she and Lyall Marlin Anaquod exited a Regina house amid a barrage of tear gas.

She had proven more descriptive during a videotaped police interview the day after the incident — a recording played on Friday during 43-year-old Anaquod’s trial at Regina provincial court.

The trial began earlier this year, but had to be adjourned several times, with one of the issues being an inability to locate Mckay. As she is alleged to have been the only other person in the house at the time of the incident, she is considered a key Crown witness.

Numerous attempts by police to locate her resulted a few weeks ago in her arrest, and she’s been in custody since. On Friday, she was brought to court to testify at the continuation of Anaquod’s trial on charges that include pointing and discharging a firearm during a tense standoff at 1152 Elphinstone St. Anaquod is accused of taking a series of shots during the standoff, including in the direction of Regina Police Service officers.

Despite the statement provided to RPS Const. Brittany Dunford, Mckay’s Friday testimony was peppered with answers like “I don’t know” and “I don’t remember,” although she told the court she recalled police officers at the house and being tear-gassed.

Crown prosecutor Chris White played the approximately 1½-hour-long videotaped statement, in which Mckay answered questions in significantly more detail.

Bundled in a blanket and at times speaking from behind it, Mckay told Dunford she’d gone to the Elphinstone Street house with Anaquod and another man, said to have left later. Mckay said the men unloaded items from a truck, including some generators, and that police showed up later that morning.

“Then all hell broke loose,” she said.

She told Dunford that, during the hours-long standoff, Anaquod blocked the windows and wouldn’t let her leave. She said Anaquod had a number of guns and a significant amount of ammunition, and made comments that made her anxious.

“I’m not going back to jail,” he is alleged to have said. “Either I’m going for life or they’re going to kill me.”

Mckay said he also made threats directly to police, once reacting to the repeated tossing of tear gas by allegedly stating, “If you throw another one of those things, I’m going to shoot one of you guys in the face.”

She also told Dunford she witnessed Anaquod shooting out the window — an observation she denied making while on the stand Friday.

Mckay acknowledged it was her in the video, but she claimed to have no memory of the interview, saying she was “tired” that day.

Judge Dennis Fenwick warned Mckay it was her duty to tell the truth on the stand but, when the same type of vague answers continued, White made an application to have the videotaped statement entered as evidence at trial.

As part of that application, Dunford was called to testify. She said Mckay was initially tired, but was also lucid, sober and coherent during the interview.

The trial is expected to wrap up next week, including the crossexamination of Mckay.