William Sandeson testifies at his murder trial, talks about plan to confront Taylor Samson

The defence opened its case in William Sandeson‘s first-degree murder trial Monday, saying he acted in self-defence when he killed Taylor Samson in the summer of 2015.

Sandeson’s lawyer, Alison Craig, told the courtroom there is “no dispute” that Sandeson shot Samson, killing him, but said he didn’t intend to end his life.

Sandeson, now 30, is accused of killing 22-year-old Samson during a 20-pound cannabis deal in the summer of 2015.

Samson was last seen on security footage entering Sandeson’s apartment the evening of Aug. 15 of that year. His body has never been found.

Sandeson took the stand in his own defence Monday, which opened the fifth week of the trial.

During his testimony, Sandeson said he began selling cannabis in the summer of 2014. At the time of Samson’s death the following year, he was selling cannabis, magic mushrooms and MDMA out of his apartment on Henry Street.

While he had debt, Sandeson said he was “doing very well” financially, making about $8,000 per month through drug deals and three jobs.

Sandeson said he got a gun license in 2015, because he said the people he “dealt with” in Montreal were “uncomfortable” with him driving back and forth between Halifax and Montreal without protection.

After buying his gun, Sandeson said he brought it to Montreal once and to the gun range twice. Other than that, “it didn’t leave my safe” in his bedroom, he said.

Sandeson said he didn’t want people to know he had a gun, as he didn’t want any of his friends or acquaintances handling it or “playing with it.”

Sandeson said he met Samson a total of three times. The first time they met was on Aug. 5, 2015 after being introduced by a man named “Jeff,” whom Sandeson knew through the drug trade.

Sandeson told the court that he was looking for someone who would deal cannabis in units of 20 pounds, that he was tired of the commute to Montreal and looking to “wrap up my drug dealing in Halifax.”

He said he spoke with “everyone I knew dealing in pound quantities” to find someone who could supply 20 pounds. Samson dealt in those quantities, Sandeson testified.

After an initial introduction at Jeff’s apartment on Aug. 5, Sandeson said he met Samson for the second time on Aug. 13. The two met at Samson’s apartment on South Street, where he looked at Samson’s products and discussed prices.

Sandeson said he was able to negotiate the price to $2,000 per pound — down from $2,100 — on a lower-grade strain of weed, but he said no commitments were made that night.

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Expressing a fear of being robbed, Sandeson said he often pretended to work for someone else for his own safety — “people wouldn’t necessarily want to follow around and rob an intermediary who’s working on behalf of other people,” he said — and told Samson that he would need to consult the person he represented, who did not actually exist.

He and Samson texted each other during Aug. 14, and a deal eventually came together on Aug. 15.

The night of Samson’s death

That night, Sandeson said he went out to dinner with his girlfriend at the time, Sonja Gashus, around 7 or 8 p.m.

He said she had plans later to watch a TV show with one of her friends, which would give him time to do the deal with Samson, he testified.

However, Sandeson said he “wasn’t entirely convinced” that he wanted to meet up with Samson. He said Samson was “speeding things up on short notice” and wanted to sell more weed than was initially discussed.

Sandeson explained the two had previously talked about moving five to 10 pounds of cannabis at a time, but Samson indicated on Aug. 15 that he had 20 pounds ready to go.

Sandeson said he felt safer when “there’d be less money and drugs in one place at any one time.”

He also told the court that he told Samson his apartment was a “safe house” — not wanting Samson to know where he lived — which Samson appeared “put off” by.

Sandeson said while the deal was $40,000 for 20 pounds, he didn’t have all the cash with him at the time. Sandeson told the court he was only intending on giving Samson $10,000 that night.

He said he also planned to confront Samson about “something else that happened earlier in the week” — an alleged home invasion and robbery at an acquaintance’s apartment that Samson was purportedly involved in.

After dinner, Sandeson said he asked Gashus to park their car on the street, rather than in their driveway, “to keep the car unassociated” with the apartment.

“If in confronting Taylor, things ended on a sour note, I didn’t want him leaving with the thought in his mind that I lived there, or that the car was associated with me or that address,” he testified.

While Gashus previously testified that Sandeson had asked her to leave, Sandeson says he doesn’t recall asking her to leave.

However, he said he believes he told her that a drug meeting would occur “to end my involvement in drug trafficking.”

Sandeson said after Gashus left to go to her friends’ place, he worked to “anonymize” the apartment — removing and hiding any references to himself and Dalhousie University.

He also prepared his apartment for a potential robbery, hiding his cash and MDMA. He said he had robbery on his mind because Jordan MacEwan, whose home was allegedly invaded and robbed by Samson, had warned him the previous day.

A lunch break was called in the courtroom before Sandeson began talking about what happened when Samson arrived. Court will reconvene shortly before 2 p.m.

The Crown closed its case on Thursday. A total of 107 exhibits and about 40 witnesses were presented to support its case.

Prior to closing its case on Thursday, Crown lawyers Carla Ball and Kim McOnie submitted 16 admissions of fact — signed by themselves and Sandeson’s lawyer, Alison Craig.

Those admissions of fact include:

• That the 20.9 pounds of green substance seized from Sandeson’s brother’s apartment was in fact marijuana;
• That Sandeson had a valid firearm registration certificate for a 9mm Smith & Wesson semi-automatic handgun;
• That tidal bores and tide levels in Truro area led HRP to believe Samson’s remains likely wouldn’t have been disposed of in the nearby body of water;
• That Sandeson owned a black Mazda Protege 5.

More to come.

— with files from Callum Smith