RIMOUSKI — The Quebec man accused of mowing down a dozen pedestrians with his truck in 2023 gave combative and volatile testimony in court Thursday as he tried to explain what happened.
During his cross-examination, Steeve Gagnon's jury trial degenerated a number of times as he threatened to hit prosecutor Simon Blanchette with a baseball bat, told the judge to shut up, and blasted jurors saying he wanted to be sentenced to life in prison.
The prosecution says Gagnon drove his truck through the heart of Amqui, Que., on March 13, 2023, about 350 kilometres northeast of Quebec City, striking pedestrians before turning himself in.
Gagnon, 40, is facing three counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder involving nine other victims.
Three men died: 65-year-old Gérald Charest, 73-year-old Jean Lafrenière and 41-year-old Simon-Guillaume Bourget.
Gagnon told the court he remembered one pedestrian being struck but not much else. Gagnon, a truck driver who was on medical leave for severe back pain, was angry that his disability benefits were being cut and he'd have to go on welfare.
On Thursday, Gagnon often talked over Blanchette as he tried to complete a question to the accused before launching threats.
"I'm going to hit you in the face with a baseball bat, that'll give you the feeling," Gagnon told the Crown, an analogy he went to many times on the stand to describe his state on the fateful day.
"If you want to experience it, I'll be happy to swing one at you," he told the prosecutor.
Superior Court Justice Louis Dionne ordered Gagnon out of court to calm down several times during his testimony.
At one point, when he told Gagnon to "forget about the baseball bat," Gagnon yelled at the magistrate, telling him to "shut up" as his microphone was turned off.
Gagnon lashed out Dionne, telling him to send jurors to deliberate and sentence him to life, that he wanted to have his back surgery.
Gagnon suggested during Thursday's hearing if he'd got back surgery, he would've been hauling wood chips instead at work.
"Send the good-for-nothing bastards to deliberation and get me out of here," he told Dionne, who quickly ushered the jury out of the room. The judge later told jurors to focus on the evidence and testimony presented.
Gagnon said he doesn't have much memory of what happened that day.
On the day after the deaths, he was interrogated by provincial police. Gagnon told police he remembers taking a nap and woke up in a police holding cell. He told an officer he didn't want to know what had happened.
"You can see that I'm not there," Gagnon said Thursday referring to himself under questioning in the video.
Later Thursday, Dr. Samuel Gauthier, a psychiatrist hired by the defence, recounted meeting Gagnon in September 2024.
First-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence.
Fourteen jurors are hearing evidence, but only 12 will be chosen to deliberate.
The trial is being heard in Rimouski, Que., northeast of the provincial capital. It continues on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 12, 2025.
— By Sidhartha Banerjee in Montreal.
The Canadian Press
