PICTOU – A trial for a 23-year-old man accused of being part of a home invasion in March continued Tuesday with one of the co-accused taking the witness stand.
Micah Scott Jacob Osborne has pleaded not guilty to a single count of break-and-enter with the intent to commit mischief on March 4 in Trenton.
Corey Caverly, 22, testified in Pictou provincial court yesterday that he visited his brother’s home, Robert MacInnis on Fraser’s Mountain, on the night of March 4 where he also met up with Osborne and Frank Crook.
The men engaged in a night of heavy drinking, with the exception of Osborne, and discussions about MacInnis’s girlfriend’s alleged relationship with a New Glasgow man.
Caverly said the men left the home after MacInnis’s girlfriend returned home, piling into Osborne’s vehicle with more alcohol in hand and an unknown destination.
“We just wanted to get away from her,” he said. “Rob was getting more depressed when she was there.”
After driving around with Osborne for some time, a decision was made by the men to visit the home of the New Glasgow man they believed was having the relationship with MacInnis’s girlfriend.
“I understood that Rob wanted to talk to (him) and he was angry by the time we got to MacDonald Street,” Caverly said, adding that he, MacInnis and Crook got out of the vehicle.
“Rob hit the van windows with a bat, but I don’t know where the bat came from. I saw the bat immediately after we got out of the car.”
He testified the men agreed not to go near the house and after the damage was done to the van, they took off in Osborne’s car.
“We wanted to get out of there in a hurry,” he said.
Caverly said someone brought up the name of a Trenton man who was accused of flirting with MacInnis’s girlfriend at a New Year’s party and had gotten into a fight with Osborne during another time.
He said Osborne drove the men to the man’s house and when Caverly got out of the vehicle, Osborne told him to take the tire iron from the vehicle with him because the man had dogs.
“Me, Rob and Frankie walked up to the door and Micah stayed in the vehicle,” he said. “Robert knocked on the door and it was answered by Corey Keating.”
Caverly said his brother asked to speak to the homeowner and Keating left the door open a crack after he went to get the man from inside the mobile home.
“We were told to come in, the door was still open a crack, so Robert opened the door and I was behind him,” he testified.
He told the court that the alleged victim was in the corner of the living room holding two pit bulls with his hands while Keating was on the other side of the room.
Caverly said his brother hit the coffee table with the bat while he stood near Keating to make sure he wasn’t going to cause any trouble for MacInnis.
“I thought they were waiting for us,” he said. “I thought this guy was going to hit my brother and I was going to get him off my brother.”
After words were exchanged between the men, Caverly said they met up with Crook again on the home’s porch and Osborne who was waiting in the car.
Caverly said he heard police were investigating the alleged incident and turned himself in to police the next day.
However, the second witness to take the stand Tuesday contradicted Caverly’s testimony saying that MacInnis and Caverly were not welcomed into the home, but instead burst through the locked door.
“I opened the door and saw three guys standing there with something in their hands,” Keating told the court.
He said the men asked for the homeowner and when he went to find the man, he locked the door so they couldn't get in.
“He put the dogs in their box and answered the door,” Keating said. “I sat back on the couch and he opened the door. They told him to get outside. The person who said it sounded pissed off. (The homeowner) shut the door, locked it and they kicked it in.”
Keating said there was “a lot of yelling” and MacInnis smashed the coffee table with the bat. He said Caverly smashed his iPhone with the tire iron and demanded to know if he had any money on him.
“He smashed up the kitchen table and I heard some more smashing,” he said of Caverly. “He had something over his face.”
The trial for Osborne will continue Oct. 3 in Pictou Provincial Court.
