The man accused of orchestrating a drive-by killing in the spring of 2009 was fairly quiet on his first night in police cells, other than talking to himself from time to time, court heard on Thursday.
Christopher Martin Fleig, 28, is accused of conspiracy to commit murder and first-degree murder in the shooting death of Brandon Neil Prevey, 29.
Prevey was gunned down at about 3 a.m. on April 5, 2009, just after he parked his Jeep Cherokee in front of a house on Ibbotson Close where he and a friend planned to attend a house party.
The friend, Shelley Neville, testified on Tuesday that she bent down to pick up her purse when someone opened fire from a passing car.
She was not injured.
Fleig’s trial got underway on Monday before Justice Kirk Sisson in Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench.
On Thursday, Crown prosecutors Jason Snider and Tony Bell questioned a series of civilian guards who were working in the Red Deer RCMP holding cells on March 29, 2010, when Fleig was first arrested for his alleged role in the killing.
John Fairless, Wayne Muttitt and Kelly Kosack all testified that Fleig, recorded as Prisoner 747, was fairly quiet and spent much of the time asleep while they were on shift, except for a few minutes spent on the phone, meeting with investigators and being fingerprinted.
Guards also heard him talking to himself at times, but did not listen to or record what he was saying.
Kosack testified that she prepared Fleig a light meal at 1:10 a.m. and he was back asleep at 1:44 when she next checked his cell.
Fleig displayed some restlessness during court on Thursday as he watched from the prisoner’s box, making various attempts from time to time to make eye contact with people on the stand and in the public gallery. He gave Kosack a big smile when she verified that she still encounters him once or twice per week in her role as a corrections officer at the Red Deer Remand Centre.
Clean-cut and sporting a light blue dress shirt under a black pullover, Fleig changed positions frequently during the proceedings, sitting at one point with his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands and then clasping his hands under his chin as witnesses were brought to the stand.
Booked for five weeks, his trial continues today, but takes a brief recess on Monday when the courtroom will be needed for monthly arraignment hearings.
bkossowan@www.reddeeradvocate.com