Despres was talking nonsense, 'intense,' court hears
Another Maine border official testified Tuesday that double-murder suspect Gregory Allan Despres was talking nonsense and behaving oddly when he turned up at the Calais border crossing the morning of April 25, 2005.
Inspector John Sernersheim told Despres's first-degree murder trial in Fredericton that he wasjust finishing his overnight shift when the accused walked into the customs building, soaked to the skin and carrying a chainsaw and sword attached to his backpack.
Sernersheim testified in a voir dire to determine the admissibility of evidence, and is among nine U.S. border officials scheduled to testify.
Despres, 24,has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his elderly neighbours Fred Fulton, 74, and Verna Decarie, 70, in their Minto home on April 23, 2005 — two days before he turned up at the Maine border.
Sernersheim's testimony echoed statements made by two colleagues Monday at the trial, which is in its second week.
They said that despite Despres's odd behaviour, they had to let the young man enter the United States because he had a valid U.S. passport and there were no outstanding warrants for his arrest.
'I explained to him that we were all fellow law enforcement officers. I indicated to him, "We are all here for your safety, we're in this together."' -Inspector John Sernersheim
Sernersheim testified that Despres identified himself as a lieutenant with the U.S. marines and sniper in Iraq, but then couldn't answer specific questions about his alleged military background.
"I asked him what his MOS [military occupation specialist] was," he said. "If you were a sniper, you had a specific code as a sharpshooter. Mr. Despres didn't seem to know what the term meant or [the] abbreviation."
The guard then asked where Despres went to boot camp. "The answer he gave me was nowhere near that. The answer was so erroneous it didn't register with me."
When Sernersheim, an eight-year-veteran of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office, began to question whether the young man was telling the truth, Despres told him to check with "the NSA, [which] he said to me was the National Space Agency."
When Sernersheim asked Despres why he was carrying a chainsaw, he answered that someone named Captain Beck told him to report to U.S. wearing white pants and carrying a chainsaw.
Tried to keep Despres calm, guard says
Sernersheim told the court he spent about 30 minutes with Despres, trying to keep him calm and watching his hands and eyes closely for any sudden movement while other officers seized a cache of weapons, including brass knuckles, the sword and chainsaw, bayonets, pepper spray and a hunting knife.
"I explained to him that we were all fellow law enforcement officers. I indicated to him, 'We are all here for your safety, we're in this together.' I ensured we would take care of his safety."
Despres was arrested in Massachusetts on April 26, 2005, on a New Brunswick warrant that was issued after he skipped a court appearance for a sentencing on a separate assault charge.
Judge Judy Clendenning has yet to rule whether the border guard's testimony will be considered evidence against the accused but did not ban publication of the comments.