An alleged gunman on trial for the murder of Jane Creba has testified that he was concealing a thumb-sucking habit, rather than a weapon, before a shootout erupted near Yonge-Dundas Square on Boxing Day 2005.
Louis Woodcock, 22, denied that he fired a gun or that he did anything to contribute to the gun battle that killed 15-year-old Creba and left six others wounded.
Video surveillance footage shows Woodstock walking in the Eaton Centre with his arms inside his jacket before the gun battle broke out at around 5 p.m. Crown prosecutors alleged that he was concealing a handgun.
Woodstock, who was 18 years old at the time, said he was concealing his hand to keep from sucking his thumb. He later quit the habit in prison because it was considered a sign of weakness by the other inmates, he said.
An occasional City of Toronto employee who organized "toddler ballet" at a local community centre, Woodstock portrayed himself as one of the many shoppers on Yonge Street who ran for cover when shots rang out.
He and 22-year-old Tyshaun Barnett are standing trial on second-degree murder, attempted murder and aggravated assault charges in connection with Creba's death. Both are accused of firing weapons in the gun battle.
Woodstock said that Jorrell Simpson-Rowe, who was convicted in 2008 of second-degree murder in Creba's death, was to blame for the shooting.
Simpson-Rowe was apprehended by police shortly after the shootout while carrying a semi-automatic pistol.
Woodcock will be cross-examined by crown prosecutors on Wednesday.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Chris Eby
