Paramedic testifies accused said he had been attacked by several men

As emergency responders turned the Kawacatoose First Nation community rink into a helicopter landing pad on Nov. 26, 2021, many bystanders just looked on and watched.

Paramedics were attending to two men. Thomas Dustyhorn had been shot in the face and, as he waited to be airlifted by STARS, his condition was turning for the worse.

Eric Charles Favel sat in the back of a police cruiser, his hair matted with blood. When paramedics wanted him to move to their ambulance, he was afraid.

That's according to Kolton Turnbull, one of two paramedics dispatched to attend to the man who sat in a prisoner's box in Regina's Court of King's Bench on Wednesday.

He stands charged with second-degree murder in the death of Dustyhorn. He pleaded not guilty when the trial began Monday.

Turnbull said Favel was eventually convinced to move to the ambulance after being told they could do so quickly and quietly, with an RCMP officer accompanying them for safety.

Once they'd made the move, they began to check the man over. The assessment of paramedics included asking their patient what had transpired that day.

“He explained to us he was attacked by several men, and he was hit with a metal pipe on his back,” the paramedic told prosecutor Arjun Shankar.

He later clarified that Favel had said he was attacked by three men while on his back.

“While he was getting hit with this metal pipe, he said that he rolled over and grabbed a gun, and he quickly just turned over and shot it,” Turnbull testified, adding that the accused man described the weapon as a 12-gauge shotgun and that the round used was buckshot.

“That's kind of where he said it ended,” the paramedic continued, noting that Favel believed the cut on his head may have been caused by a ricochet.

On Tuesday, RCMP Cpl. Jason Collen testified that when he attended to Favel at the scene, the accused man said he'd been shot in the head. The officer noted the matted blood.

Collen said he was concerned for Favel's safety after he'd heard what he believed to be threats directed toward the man who was then a police suspect. The officer said Favel was laying down in the back of the police vehicle and told him something to the effect of: “I'm scared, get me out of here.”

Collen called for the second ambulance to be dispatched for Favel.

Turnbull, who responded to the call, said Favel also kept telling paramedics that he “felt very sorry that he did this.”

Further, he kept asking about Dustyhorn's condition, and asking for updates.

On Wednesday, Jeff Deagle, one of Favel's lawyers, cross-examined Turnbull as well as his fellow paramedic, Dawson Markus. The two had worked as a team to attend to Favel. Both men believed, based on their examination, that Favel did not seem intoxicated and was not confused.

Deagle sought to clarify that they meant confused in a medical sense. Both agreed there was no way to know whether the information Favel relayed was correct.

Court heard that when Favel was initially placed in the ambulance, his handcuffs were removed.

Turnbull told Deagle that he wasn't concerned for his safety with Favel at that time. Markus stated he didn't become concerned until a later point when Favel began breathing rapidly and clenching his fists.

Court heard that the accused man was transported to a Regina hospital. A decision was made to use “soft restraints” en route but, due to a later safety concern, the ambulance stopped on the highway and he was handcuffed.

“Eric was very accepting of it,” Markus said of the additional restraints.

Deagle confirmed with both paramedics that Favel had been co-operative with them.

Turnbull, who drove the ambulance, testified that when they stopped on the highway, he was told that Favel was saying he didn't feel safe, and was going to try to get out of his soft restraints.

“He didn't feel safe — in the ambulance?” Shankar had asked.

Turnbull confirmed that was his understanding.

Deagle seized on this, asking whether it was just the paramedics and Favel in the ambulance. It was.

The defence lawyer asked whether Favel's agitation at the time made any sense. “To me, no,” Turnbull responded.

The trial is scheduled to continue Thursday.