A prosecutor suggested Thursday that a Hells Angels associate accused in the brutal slaying of a Kelowna dad had lied to and manipulated a full-patch member of the notorious motorcycle club into helping him fight the victim’s sons.
Court has heard that accused Daniel McRae and his brother and co-accused Matthew McRae were engaged in a long-running petty dispute with the sons of Dain Phillips, who was beaten to death in June 2011.
Crown counsel Joe Bellows suggested during his cross-examination of Daniel McRae that the accused had manipulated Hells Angel Norman Cocks into joining them in their fight with Kody and Kaylin Phillips.
“I completely disagree with that,” McRae told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Mark McEwan.
Several hours prior to the slaying, Cocks punched Kaylin Phillips at a recycling depot after McRae had spotted him as he and Cocks were driving by, court has heard.
Cocks, who has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the Phillips slaying, mistakenly thought that the man he was confronting was Kody Phillips.
Bellows suggested that McRae deliberately told Cocks that it was Kody because he’d already told Cocks that Kody was telling people that his boss was a member of the Hells Angels from Vancouver.
He said that McRae wanted some “payback” and hoped Cocks would help him, because the previous day Kaylin Phillips had pushed McRae and knocked off his hat during a confrontation outside the home where the Phillips brothers lived.
“You wanted Norm to proceed in and confront Kaylin, didn’t you?” said Bellows.
“No, I did not,” said McRae.
“You’re just sitting there like a bump on the log and Norm drives in?” said Bellows.
“Yes,” replied McRae.
“You were still extremely upset and angry at Kaylin for slapping you and brushing you off like a fly?” said Bellows.
“I disagree,” said McRae.
After the confrontation with Kaylin Phillips and prior to the fatal beating, McRae and Cocks got into a confrontation with the Phillips brothers and their father.
Dain Phillips, driving his own truck, forced Cocks to race backwards in his truck at high speed.
McRae testified that following the truck incident, Cocks said he intended to punch the “big dumb f—” behind the wheel of the vehicle chasing them.
McRae said he thought the driver of the truck chasing them was Kody Phillips’ boss, a member of the Hells Angels in Vancouver, and not Dain Phillips.
McRae agreed with a suggestion by Bellows that Cocks was upset because he knew all of the Hells Angels from Vancouver and didn’t recognize the driver as a member of the motorcycle club.
“It upset Norm that this guy was holding himself out to be an HA when he wasn’t. That upset Norm, didn’t it?” said Bellows.
“Yes,” said McRae.
But McRae denied a suggestion by Bellows that he had told Cocks the driver was a member of the Hells Angels because he wanted to get him angry.
“You wanted Norm to fight your fight against Kody and Kaylin,” said Bellows.
“No, I did not,” said McRae.
“You tried to manipulate Norm into joining in the fight, didn’t you?” said Bellows.
