The last person to see Marc Bontkes alive was his then-roommate, with whom he shared a life of partying and drug use for the last few months leading up to his murder.
Dwayne Nelson testified that Bontkes, 33, was addicted to drugs — “hard” — and that he was out of control and hard to handle, but was a smiling and decent guy.
Nelson was testifying in the Supreme Court jury trial of Robert David Bradshaw, who is facing two first degree murder charges for the deaths of Bontkes and another drug dealer, Laura Lynn Lamoureux.
Roy Thielen is already serving a life sentence for both killings and Langley’s Michelle Motola, who was 17 at the time of the murders in March, 2009, is serving six years for Bontkes’ murder.
Nelson was arrested the day after Bontkes was killed on “a suspicion of murdering” Bontkes. He was later released.
“Marc was addicted to heroin, but he would take anything he could get his hands on . . . he would beat people, rob people. I was hired to go have a chat with him in May 2008,” Nelson said of how they met.
But the two came out of the chat as friends, and Nelson said they partied hard with girls and drugs, selling and buying daily.
At the time of the murder, Nelson said they were living in Bontkes’ dad’s RV, which was parked on a 64 Avenue property that his father was going to develop.
Nelson said at the time, Langley’s drug scene was “rough” and violent.
There were at least four dial-a-dope operations running at the same time in Langley, with turf wars and many people being “trunked” — a term meaning being put in a trunk, driven someplace and beaten.
He said at the time, Lamoureux was known as an enforcer.
“Who didn’t know Double D?” Nelson testified about Lamoureux. “If you didn’t know Double D, you weren’t in the drug world.”
But later he testified that Bontkes didn’t know her.
Bontkes had robbed almost every dial-a-dope line and Nelson had to buy drugs for him because he had crossed everyone, he said. Bradshaw was one of the dealers Nelson would buy drugs from.
Then Bontkes met the 17-year-old Motola, who would eventually lure him to his death.
Nelson said the two partied hard and Bontkes drove her to her drug deals. He recalled a night when Motola picked him up in her car and her boyfriend was handcuffed and drugged out in the backseat as she ran her drugs. Bontkes couldn’t get over the fact that she had to sit on purses to see over the steering wheel.
“Marc liked her but she was with Paulie (Bradshaw),” said Nelson.
Nelson testified that he and Bontkes didn’t really discuss the murder of Lamoureux (her street name was Double D). She was killed five days before Bontkes, outside her Langley City apartment.
On the night Bontkes was murdered, Nelson testified that Motola called him crying that her boss was going to slit her throat for debts she owed him.
Nelson said he heard Bontkes tell Motola to come over and get him so he could go “kill that ****sucker.”
Nelson claims he knew this was bad and asked Bontkes to let it go. Before he knew it, Motola was driving him away. Hours later, police would tape off the parking lot of Hi-Knoll Park where Bontkes’ body was found.
As soon as Nelson found out that a 33-year-old man had been killed, he knew it was Bontkes and called Bradshaw, first on his drug line.
“I said where is that ****? She left with Marc and now he’s dead,” said Nelson.
He alleges Bradshaw told him to calm down and the two met in the parking lot of Samz Pub.
Nelson said Bradshaw was a good guy, always friendly, easy to deal with. Nelson alleges Bradshaw said: “You live by the sword, you die by the sword” in reference to Bontkes’ murder. Nelson testified that in the drug world, that’s true.
“You either end up in prison or dead,” he said.
Bontkes left behind a toddler and a wife.
The trial will resume on Wednesday. The jury is hearing from a wide variety of witnesses and is expected to finish by the end of next week.