Dillon Brown had a swollen jaw, bruises and loose teeth after being jumped by bikers at the Voodoo Lounge in Campbell River seven years ago, his former girlfriend told a B.C. Supreme Court jury Wednesday.
“What upset me most, I remember how swollen his face was,” a tearful Nicole Hunt testified by video at Richard Alexander’s trial for the first-degree murder of Brown, a 30-year-old mixed martial arts fighter.
Brown was killed on March 11, 2016.
Alexander, former president of the Devil’s Army Motorcycle Club in Campbell River, has pleaded not guilty. The trial, being held under heavy security at the Victoria courthouse, is expected to last four weeks.
Hunt and Brown met when they were kids and reconnected in 2015, she testified. She moved to Victoria and moved in with him in August.
On the morning of Nov. 22, 2015, Brown called her from Campbell River hospital and said he’d been jumped by a couple of guys. He asked her to come and Hunt drove up right away.
Brown asked her to take photographs of his injuries. He told her he was going to file a lawsuit against the Voodoo Lounge. He also obtained a video of the fight from someone who worked at the lounge, she testified.
“I did see some of it. … I remember seeing multiple guys going after him from different directions and Dillon fighting back. I didn’t see bar staff. It was just him and the people going after him,” she said, wiping away tears.
Brown didn’t feel the fight should have gone as far as it did, Hunt testified. “He thought someone should have stopped it.”
In mid-January 2016, they drove to Campbell River for Brown to pursue his lawsuit. Hunt said she stayed in the car because she had just learned she was pregnant and was making an appointment with a doctor.
Around this time, Brown received phone calls from someone who wanted to resolve the lawsuit. Brown was frustrated because the arrangements kept changing, Hunt testified. The week before Brown’s death, he told her the issue was resolved and he was going to be paid $10,000 in exchange for him dropping the lawsuit.
In a text message on March 11 at 1:11 p.m., Hunt asked when he was coming back to Victoria.
“Maybe today, just waiting to see this guy, get my coin,” he texted back.
His last text to her was at 1:21 p.m. She never heard from him again.
“Nobody knew where he was,” she sobbed.
On March 13, Campbell River RCMP told her that Brown had been killed.
The jury also heard from Nicole Herman, the mother of Brown’s son. The two met in high school in Campbell River. At the time of his death, she was pregnant with his child.
In early January 2016, she became aware that Brown wanted to sue the Voodoo Lounge’s insurance company to pay for his lost wages and medical and dental bills. He became stressed when he lost a USB key with a video of the fight on it, she testified. “He was getting me to tear my house apart looking for it.”
Brown kept photos of his injuries, the notice of claim and a witness list in a red folder, she said. The only legal advice he received was from a law student.
On the evening of Jan. 31, 2016, Brown received a phone call. He told the caller he wasn’t “a rat” and that he had bills from what happened,.
“He said: ‘It’s just that Ricky guy. I’m going to meet up and talk about settling.’ I told him he was crazy to go alone,” Herman testified.
When he came home, Brown told her he had met Ricky and there was nothing to worry about. He was going to get a settlement.
“Did he ever indicate to you why that person wanted a settlement?” asked prosecutor Kimberly Henders Miller.
“Ricky didn’t want his guys going down for it,” Herman replied.
On the morning of March 11, Brown asked her to draft an agreement for him, saying he was dropping the civil suit against the lounge. They printed out two copies at Staples and Brown put them in his red folder. He expected to receive about $11,000, she said.
Before he left to meet Ricky, Herman heard Brown breathing, doing quick exhales like he did before his MMA fights.
At 1:53 p.m. she texted him: “Hey, are you all good.”
He didn’t respond. All her phone messages went to voicemail.
The next day, Herman checked the hospitals and called police. She reported him missing on March 12.
On March 13, police informed her Brown was dead.
