Jeremy Matthew Kostyshyn took the stand at his trial Thursday and testified he didn't know any of the items he's accused of trafficking and owning were stolen.
Police found two snowmobiles, an all-terrain vehicle and a jet boat at the former firefighter's home and have charged him with four counts of possession and a further five for trafficking in stolen property. One of the trafficking charges was withdrawn Thursday due to lack of evidence.
Crown Prosecutor Marie Louise Ahrens repeatedly suggested to Kostyshyn he was "turning a blind eye" to the purchases, three of which were sold by a friend of his ex-partner's father.
In October 2011, Kostyshyn bought what he called a "you-built" jet boat from the man.
"It just means the boat could be built by someone that's not the manufacturer. People build them in their backyards all the time," Kostyshyn told his lawyer Patrick Fagan.
"It was my boat, at least I thought it was," said Kostyshyn, 34.
That boat was seized by police May 2, 2013, when Kostyshyn was arrested. Under cross examination Ahrens pointed to an officer's testimony and pictures showing the boat had its vehicle identification number (VIN) scratched off and an "after-market job" to put on a new VIN number, with screw holes visible.
"I'm going to suggest to you sir that you-built boats - that is home made jobs that may be cobbled together in some of these backyards - don't have vehicle identification numbered plates on them."
"I don't agree with that," Kostyshyn said. "I think people put numbers on their boats."
When officers flipped the floorboard over, they saw the brand Thunder Jet. Kostyshyn said he'd never turned the boards over and that the boat had been in poor shape when he bought it.
As a down payment, he paid the family friend with his 1993 Volkswagen car, roughly valued at $3,000 and later paid a further $9,500 in cash after selling an older boat. Kostyshyn showed the court a receipt for the payment and document showing he'd transferred his car to that man.
Ahrens took issue with the fact the receipt didn't show Kostyshyn's name and there was no value assigned to the car on the transfer papers.
"We have only your word that money even changed hands that day," Ahrens said.
When Kostyshyn overheard co-worker Kevin Woodhouse was interested in a skid-steer, he connected him with that family friend but disagreed he had any part in the sale. In testimony, Woodhouse described Kostyshyn as the one who "brokered the deal," but that money never passed between the two of them.
"You were brokering the price though, right?" Ahrens asked Kostyshyn during cross examination.
"No," said Kostyshyn, adding he only asked about the price at Woodhouse's request.
"I didn't ask why you did it, I asked you what you did," Ahrens said.
"I asked him how much and where it was," said Kostyshyn, who said he didn't know what Woodhouse, who still works at the firehall, ended up paying.
At the time of its theft in 2010, Ahrens said the skid steer was worth about $57,000, but the man offered it to Woodhouse for $20,000.
Woodhouse later counter-offered for around $17,000.
Two years later, after Kostyshyn got a call from that same man, Woodhouse bought a mini excavator for $7,000. Woodhouse went to Kostyshyn's house where it was parked and Kostyshyn said he went inside while the two men finished the deal.
Kostyshyn said he'd tried to contact the man once in August 2012, but the phone was disconnected.
Kostyshyn said he'd bought the Ski-Doo in question with the help of his dad when he was 16. Fagan produced a bill of sale and financing agreement between a Burns Lake dealership and Kostyshyn's father.
Crown gave no photo evidence showing a VIN plate had been scratched off the Ski-Doo.
The other two vehicles - a snowmobile and all-terrain vehicle - Kostyshyn said were left on his property from his ex's father, who is dead.
As character witnesses Fagan offered three Prince George firefighters - Kevin Scobie, Clayton Sheen and Kevin Gunning - and a family friend, Thomas Beatty.
Beatty, a mortgage broker, helped Kostyshyn with financial advice on several homes he owned.
Several witnesses praised Kostyshyn as a father with sole custody of his five-year-old son.
They described him as a man with a strong work ethic, respected among his peers, who gave back to the community.
"Before the charges, his reputation was very good," said Sheen.
Gunning said he's been paying Kostyshyn to help renovate his house for the last three months. Kostyshyn made an annual salary of $80,000 as a firefighter, but was dismissed soon after the charges, court heard.
Three of the four had sat through parts of the trial, which Ahrens noted is contrary to a court order that bans witnesses from being present. To each, Ahrens qualified that they "weren't in a position" to assess Kostyshyn's approach to business dealings.
At the start of Kostyshyn's fourth day on trial Crown withdrew the first count of trafficking, which related to a stolen jet boat found with Benjamin Taffy Williams, who was convicted in June for possession.
The Crown wanted to use Williams as a material witness, but court heard Monday he has yet to be served the subpoena to appear in court and B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ronald Tindale denied Ahrens request to issue a warrant for his arrest to testify.
