Gerald Chretien vehemently denied defence suggestions that he made up a story about how he was injured during an incident two years ago that left him a paraplegic.
Either that, or he was hallucinating because of his drug use on Nov. 11, 2021, the lawyer for David Carrie, the man accused of causing his injuries, maintained during his cross-examination.
The 65-year-old carpenter also disagreed with this second theory Toronto lawyer Kamran Sajid suggested about what had happened at the Wellington Street East home.
Chretien rejected accusations that he had been smoking crystal meth, which made him feel invincible, anxious, confused and paranoid.
"I told you no," and that "I did it 24 hours before (on Nov. 10)," he responded, when the defence suggested that he was feeling on top of the world at the time.
"I'm a sociable user, not a hard core user," Chretien insisted during the three hours he spent on the witness stand Thursday morning.
"I don't have side effects and I don't use it that much."
Carrie, 57, has pleaded not guilty to forcible confinement, assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm.
Last Wednesday, Chretien told Ontario Court Justice Romuald Kwolek that the accused had demanded money, slapped him in the face, and threw a spud wrench at his head, breaking a window.
He testified that he climbed out the second-floor window onto a porch roof, then fell when an eavestrough he had grabbed broke.
Chretien said his foot hit a porch railing and he landed on his head in the front yard of the home where Carrie lived.
He denied that he had gone there to use drugs, telling Sajid "no, that's just insulting," after the defence maintained that's why needles were located in his jacket.
"If needles were found in my coat they were not mine," he said. "There were needles all over that house and you had to watch where you were walking."
What happened was drug-related, not an assault, Carrie's lawyer maintained.
"You opened the window and fell down," he said, suggesting Chretien’s behaviour was reckless because he was high.
When Sajid started asking about a $10-million statement of claim he has filed for a civil lawsuit involving Carrie's mother, the owner of the home, an angry Chretien refused to answer the questions without his lawyer.
"It's none of your business," he told Sajid. "I'm the one sitting in a wheelchair here."
Prosecutor Trent Wilson said the question wasn't relevant.
"I'd like to go home," Chretien told the judge, adding: "I'm upset, your Honour" and "he's irritating me."
Sajid opted not to call any defence witnesses.
After hearing the lawyer’s closing submissions in the afternoon, Kwolek put his decision over to Jan. 2.
The defence argued that his client should be acquitted on all counts.
He attacked Chretien's credibility, saying he provided information that contradicted his statement to police and testified he couldn't remember what he told the paramedics.
"There is a complete lack of collaborating evidence," Sajid told the court.
"He told a lie and is trying to make all the pieces fit."
Chretien told the paramedics he had been smoking crystal meth, but when he spoke to the police two months later, he said he absolutely didn't use the narcotic that night, but rather the day before.
Sajid also pointed to the man's extensive record, which began decades ago and includes several crimes of dishonesty.
"He has lived a criminal lifestyle."
Wilson countered that Chretien is now a paraplegic, who also has limited movement in his hands, and the medical records demonstrate he suffers every day.
It is clear from the man's description of what occurred that he was confronted, assaulted in the bedroom, and attempted to get away from Carrie.
"It doesn't sound like a description in the throes of drugs" and "someone making things up or hallucinating."
The Crown described Chretien's evidence as "unequivocal "about why he had gone to the home with a friend: to pick up some clothes they had there and his tools.
He referred to Chretien's testimony about Carrie twice attempting to get him up off the ground — his resistance because he was in a lot of pain — and Carrie then disappearing
"If he is making things up to make $10 million in a lawsuit it doesn't make sense," Wilson said.
When people are injured there often are lawsuits, Wilson said, adding the defence is pointing to Chretien's evidence as a way to further his lawsuit with convictions.
He suggested the accused knew Chretien went out the window, and that explains why he was trying to get the older man up.
"After a couple of efforts Carrie disappears," the prosecutor said. "We don't have Carrie on the front yard waving EMS down."
Chretien was gravely injured, broke vertebrae in his back after being confronted and assaulted by Carrie.
If you are satisfied with Chretien's version of the events "causation naturally flows," Wilson told the judge.
Sure Chretien used drugs, was in a tough place in his life, but he told the court what had occurred.
"He got testy at times," Wilson said, but if you listen to the facts about the assault the court is left with uncontradicted evidence, because it didn't hear from Carrie.