The trial has begun at the Montreal courthouse for a man accused of kidnapping an American couple in 2020.
Gary Arnold of Hinchinbrooke, Que., is facing seven charges including two counts each of kidnapping, illegal confinement and extortion of a couple from the town of Moira, N.Y.
He and four other men are accused in what authorities say was a case of settling of accounts.
According to the prosecution, Arnold ferried the couple to Quebec via Akwesasne, a Mohawk reserve that straddles the Canada-U.S. border.
On Wednesday, the prosecution tried to show that Arnold’s cellphone was traced to the crime scene.
“They’re attempting, piece by piece, to show where certain people were, where certain phones were in relation to where the kidnapped people were when the story started and where they ended up,” explained defence attorney John Pepper, Jr.
Prosecution witnesses included experts from mobile phone companies, including Rogers and Bell, as well as one witness from the Sûreté du Québec’s tech division.
Pepper Jr. said he plans to mount a strong defence.
“We will have a most serious defence to offer with private detectives and others,” he told Global News outside the courtroom.
“We’ll seriously put forward a very vigorous defence.”
The trial is being heard in English at the Montreal courthouse and is expected to last at least two months.