A former Prince George addict and dealer gave some insight into the city's drug world and the personality of the victim of a drug-related shooting death during testimony Monday in the first-degree murder trial of Jesse Norman Sweder.
Sweder is accused of shooting to death Peter John Letendre, who was found dead Dec. 11, 2004, outside Victoria Towers on 20th at Norwood.
Sandy Plante testified that on the night in question he had delivered a prescription painkiller to Letendre at an apartment in Victoria Towers that, when cooked into a liquid and taken intravenously, has similar effects to heroin.
Plante said he heard "through the rumour mill" that Letendre was having some trouble with some people and was staying "where he felt safe."
Asked by defence lawyer Jim Heller if Letendre seemed unsettled, Plante said yes and later indicated he did not appear to get high when he took the drug.
"He didn't get to the calm, peaceful euphoric state that the dope should've got him," Plante said.
He described Letendre as a local enforcer who went by the nickname "Pistol Pete" and would use violence to collect drug debts but was also charismatic and likeable.
Plante also agreed that Letendre was a bit of "lady's man" and that caused some trouble and jealously with their boyfriends.
"I'm sure he slept with some guys girlfriends," Plante said.
Plante also spoke about another drug enforcer, whose name cannot be published under a court ordered publication ban until he's completed his testimony at a later date in the trial.
Of the two, Plante said he had more respect for Letendre because he tended to be less boastful.
"When other people brag about him, that's a lot more impressive," Plante said.
Plante acknowledged there was a conflict between two street level gangs at the time and that on the night in question, he told the other enforcer where Letendre could be found.
Upon realizing what he had done, Plante said he called Letendre, and when he reached him heard a voice in the background telling Letendre to hang up the phone.
Plante testified that the trauma of Letendre's death caused him to get out of the the drug scene.
"It was the catalyst," Plante said.
After serving time for some criminal offences, Plante, who told the court he's the child of biker parents, said he has since learned a trade and no longer lives in Prince George.
"I've been clean for over three years now," said Plante, adding he's now taking methadone, which prevents him from getting high on opiates and allows him to lead a normal, productive life.
"No matter how much heroin I try, it will not get me high," Plante said. "So, I don't try."
Sweder was arrested in November 2008 after he took credit for the killing while in a Fort St. John bar talking to an undercover officer posing as a full-patch biker.
But Sweder maintains he not only did not commit the act but was not even at the scene of the slaying and it's expected he will take the unusual step of taking the stand at a point during the trial to testify that he told the story to the officer in attempt to land a job supervising a marijuana grow operation.
The Crown alleges Sweder, while in the company of two other men, shot Letendre because of Letendre's behaviour towards others in the city's drug trade and threats made to Sweder's family.
First degree murder requires planning and forethought and carries a sentence of life without eligibility for parole for at least 25 years.
Six weeks before his death, Letendre was celebrating a dismissal of charges related to the severe beating of a drug-addicted female after she failed to appear in court.
