Prosecutors are delivering closing arguments in the case against Nicholas Bellemare, the man charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of RCMP Const. Rick O’Brien. Crown alleges Bellemare was part of a drug trafficking network and was guarding a stash house in a Coquitlam high rise that was the target of a police raid on Sept. 22, 2023. In previous testimony, surviving RCMP officers described pounding on the door and announcing themselves as police before using a battering ram to make entry into the unit. O’Brien was struck multiple times by gunfire as he led a team of five officers into the condo. In summarizing its evidence, the Crown alleged that Bellemare fired 10 shots from a high-powered assault rifle and that three bullets, or bullet fragments, struck O’Brien in the face and head. “We say he clearly had the intent to kill when he shot Const. O’Brien. We also say he killed him knowing Const. O’Brien was a police officer,” said Crown prosecutor Rod Flannigan. Two other officers also sustained injuries from bullets or shrapnel in the exchange of gunfire that took place inside the condo. Bellemare was shot in the arm. Crown alleges the weapon used to kill O’Brien was a prohibited AR-15-style rifle equipped with prohibited magazines capable of carrying 30 rounds of ammunition. In making its case, Crown also described testimony from forensic pathologists, and DNA and blood-splatter experts. It is expected Crown will finish its closing submissions Tuesday afternoon and defense will begin its closing on Thursday.
