With friends like these, who needs enemies?
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Updated: July 03, 2009 2:11 PM
A provincial court judge had harsh words Thursday (July 2) for a Kamloops teen — urging her to be careful who she hangs out with — after acquitting her so-called friend on charges stemming from an alleged robbery last summer.
Brandi Jones testified Thursday at the trial of Carli MacPhee, who was charged with two counts of breach of probation after Jones was assaulted by a group of acquaintances last August.
Jones, 18, received a phone call from someone she believed to be MacPhee on Aug. 13 — first asking if she knew where to find drugs, then suggesting a meeting.
"They said they could get me my IPod back, so I went and met up with them," a soft-spoken Jones said, explaining that she met up with MacPhee a short time later.
MacPhee, 19, drove Jones to the parking lot of Brocklehurst secondary school, court heard, where a group of three other girls were apparently waiting for Jones.
The girls pulled Jones out of the car and began punching her, while MacPhee ran away.
The assault ended when a passerby stopped and called police. Jones' purse was later found at a nearby park.
In court on Thursday, Jones said she didn't think MacPhee knew the trio had been lying in wait, but her statements to police in the weeks and months following the incident indicate otherwise.
Reading from those statements in court, Crown prosecutor Roy Dickie said Jones told police she knew she was being "set up" by MacPhee and warned her that she could potentially "go down" for driving her to the parking lot.
Jones said she has since learned that MacPhee didn't know the three other girls were there, despite the fact that, in her statement, she said she was told by MacPhee she "deserved" the assault she would receive.
Kamloops provincial court Judge Stella Frame warned Jones — who had been arrested Thursday morning on a witness warrant to ensure she would testify in court — to be careful who she befriends.
"Ms. Jones, you might want to think about your friendships," the judge said.
"You were set up. That's really clear. You might want to think about that long and hard after you leave this courtroom today."
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