Latest news with #YachtClubSocial
CTV News
02-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Server at nightclub says Pat Stay was in ‘verbal altercation' before stabbing
Brinn McKenzie, a server at the Yacht Club Social in September 2022, testified at Adam Drake's second-degree murder trial on June 2, 2025. (CTV Atlantic / Callum Smith) Brinn McKenzie, a server at the Yacht Club Social in September 2022, testified on Monday at Adam Drake's second-degree murder trial. In charge of the VIP area, McKenzie was working the night of Pat Stay's death and heard a verbal altercation between Stay and a man in a white shirt at about 12:35 a.m. on Sept. 4, 2022. She says she did not see any weapons or what caused the blood she saw after Stay turned from a group of people he was interacting with at the nightclub. She testified she didn't know Drake or Stay in Sept. 2022, but later learned who Stay was. She never identified Drake in her testimony or while watching any video in court, but continued describing a man in a white shirt. Nicole Zakhour, a previous Crown witness, has testified Drake was wearing a white shirt when they were out that night. Greetings, verbal altercation McKenzie testified that after Stay walked into the club, he 'was standing right next to me, within an arm's length' while greeting a group of people with handshakes and fist bumps. She told the jury Stay did not greet the man in the white shirt, and she witnessed a 'verbal altercation' between Stay and him. Stay had pushed the man in the white shirt, she testified. 'I did not hear what was said because it was loud in there,' McKenzie told the jury. Another man in an orange hoodie pushed Stay, she said, before Stay left the table. She said after the altercation with the man in the white shirt, 'Pat turned and ran out of the bar and then slipped in his own blood and got up and continued to run out of the bar.' When asked by the Crown, McKenzie said she did not see any weapons or what caused the blood. During the verbal altercation, she said others made comments appearing to come 'from a place of concern about what was going on.' Cross-examination During cross-examination by Drake's defence lawyer Michael Lacy, McKenzie agreed that she never saw the man in the white shirt initiate any physical altercation with Stay. He asked McKenzie if there were more people in the area where the stabbing happened than the four people she was serving that evening. She agreed. She also said it was tough to identify people through the video footage, which was black-and-white surveillance footage from the club. Drake has pleaded not guilty to the charge. Monday marked day 12 of the 24 days set aside for the trial. Testimony continues Tuesday. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
CBC
27-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Jury in murder trial hears Pat Stay's last words
Pat Stay's last words were "Call the cops." The Dartmouth battle rapper had been stabbed at a bar in downtown Halifax early on the morning of Sept. 4, 2022. Security video from the bar shows him staggering away from the incident with a large bloodstain forming on his chest. After being stabbed, he is punched to the ground before getting up and stumbling out of range of the camera. Stay makes it to the front of the bar, the Yacht Club Social on Lower Water Street. He's shown weaving through the crowd, out onto the street. Const. Brad Benjamin is one of two plainclothes police officers who happened to be in the bar that night investigating complaints of liquor violations. Benjamin spotted Stay and followed him outside. He approached the musician just as Stay collapsed to the pavement. Benjamin flashed his badge to identify himself, and that's when Stay uttered his final words. These details are contained in an agreed statement of facts that were read into the record Tuesday at the jury trial in Nova Scotia Supreme Court of Adam Drake, the man accused of killing Stay. Drake, 34, is charged with second-degree murder. Justice Scott Norton explained to the jury in a Dartmouth courtroom today that Drake's defence team is conceding the details contained in the statement, sparing the Crown the necessity of having to prove these elements. The trial is in its third week, but it is on a truncated schedule. The jury heard this week from two police witnesses who testified about evidence they collected. There are judicial meetings the rest of the week, so the trial will not resume until Monday. The trial is expected to run until mid-June.
CTV News
22-05-2025
- CTV News
Woman with Adam Drake the night he's accused of killing Pat Stay testifies at trial
Nicole Zakhour, who was with Adam Drake the night of battle rapper Pat Stay's murder, takes the stand. The jury in Adam Drake's second-degree murder trial has seen a lot of video so far, both from the Yacht Club Social – where Pat Stay was fatally stabbed – and the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel before and after the killing. But no one had officially identified Adam Drake in those videos until Thursday. Nicole Zakhour said she was with her best friend the evening of Sept. 3, 2022, when she received an Instagram message from Drake, asking her to go out for drinks. She hadn't seen Drake in three or four years prior to that night, she said, but described him as a longtime friend and acquaintance. She agreed and the pair met up with Drake and his friend at the downtown Halifax hotel's bar before heading out. Zakhour testified after learning a local beer garden was closing, the group of four ended up at the Yacht Club Social. Video showed they entered the bar at 10:32 p.m. She said they had been drinking earlier in the evening and continued taking shots at the club. Upon direct examination from the Crown, she told the jury she's always known who Pat Stay was and there was always a 'good energy vibe' between them. She crossed paths with him at the club that night, testifying about exchanging hellos with the battle rapper, but that was the last conversation she had with him. Stay's partner, who has sat through the duration of the trial in the public gallery, started to cry seeing the video footage of him walking up to Zakhour, moments before he was stabbed. Stay appeared to then walk past Zakhour to greet others. Zakhour said all she remembers is a 'fight' break out, but that it was a blur because it all happened so fast. 'I just saw Pat kind of tumble over and fall to the ground, so I don't know what had happened at that time,' she told the jury. 'I thought he got punched.' She testified a man in an orange hoodie had punched Stay but that she didn't know who it was at the time. But she didn't see Stay get stabbed, saying, 'If I had known something had happened, I wouldn't have been able to continue my night.' After seeing Stay head for the front exit, she testified her group of four went out the back door of the club and they walked back to the hotel where Drake was staying. During cross-examination by Drake's lawyer, Michael Lacy, Zakhour said they were not a couple and repeated that it was a good night – and that Drake's demeanour didn't change after leaving the club. After a brief stop at the hotel, she and two others continued on to another bar but Drake stayed back at the hotel. She told the jury she didn't see any blood on Drake and agreed with Lacy that ending up at the Yacht Club Social that night was 'random.' She told the trial she didn't talk to Drake at any point after that night. He was arrested six days later and faces a charge of second-degree murder in Stay's death. Drake has pleaded not guilty. About five weeks have been set aside for the trial. Pat Stay Pat Stay. (Source: Panada Pizza/Facebook) For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
CBC
22-05-2025
- CBC
Jury hears more details about the night Pat Stay died
Social Sharing More details are emerging about the chaotic scene in a downtown Halifax bar the night Dartmouth battle rapper Pat Stay was fatally stabbed. The jury trial of Adam Drake, the 34-year-old charged with second-degree murder in Stay's death, is now in its second week in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Dartmouth. Several people have testified that they recognized Stay and saw him staggering through the Yacht Club Social with a large bloodstain forming on his shirt early on the morning of Sept. 4, 2022. Brennan Hartling, a provincial enforcement officer, said he could see the colour draining from Stay's face. The compliance officer and two police constables were already in the bar before the stabbing occurred, investigating a complaint from the previous week that the bar was exceeding its capacity of 195 people. Hartling said he counted 188 people the night of the stabbing. He was on his way to the front of the nightclub to compare numbers with bar staff when he noticed the commotion. Hartling and one of the police officers followed Stay outside, where he stood for a time in the middle of Lower Water Street, trying to maintain his balance. The 36-year-old then staggered back to the curb where he collapsed next to a planter. The second police officer had by then gone back into the club to order it to shut down. The jury has now seen several replays of a video showing the moment when the stabbing occurred. It shows Stay making his way to the VIP section at the back of the bar. He has his back to the camera, so the actual stabbing is not shown. But Stay turns to his right and a large stain can be seen on his chest. Someone can be seen coming out of the crowd behind Stay and sucker-punching him, knocking him to the floor. He gets up and staggers out of range of the camera. Bar co-owner Kevin MacLean testified Monday, describing the scene in the bar that night and tracking his own movements on the video. Immediately following the stabbing, MacLean said he went to the front of the bar, where he instructed the DJ to turn down the music. The video also showed someone, later identified as a security guard, with a mop and a bucket near where Stay fell inside the bar. MacLean testified the man appeared to be cleaning blood from the floor but said he didn't order him to do so. The court heard the police officers inside the club at the time of the stabbing recognized a man they considered a person of interest and sent out word that he was arrestable. Two patrol officers who set up a checkpoint on Quinpool Road intercepted and arrested that man, who was eventually charged with murder. The jury has not been told what became of the murder charge. Wednesday's court session ended with testimony from two employees of the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel, including one who worked at the front desk. She testified that Drake checked in on Sept. 2, paying cash for a room after showing up without a reservation. The second employee was a loss prevention officer who narrated security video taken from six of the hotel's cameras. They showed people moving around the hotel, including Drake.
Global News
15-05-2025
- Global News
Emotional day in court for Pat Stay's family and friends as murder trial continues
It was an emotional day in court for friends and family of Nova Scotia rapper Pat Stay, as they heard details about the night he was stabbed to death at a Halifax bar. The Crown called its witness Wednesday in the second-degree murder trial for Adam Joseph Drake. Sgt. Perry Astephen of Halifax Regional Police told the jury how police responded to the call of a man down on Sept. 4, 2022. He said when officers arrived at the Yacht Club Social on Lower Water Street, the area was swarming with clubgoers. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy He testified that about 100 people were milling around Stay, who was lying on the ground by two officers. Sobs could be heard in the gallery from Stay's wife Malyssa as Astephen described the scene. Story continues below advertisement He said there was blood on the roadway in a trail leading to the entrance of the club, and that when he went inside to try and secure the scene, the managers were reluctant to help and had even begun to mop up the blood. The Crown then showed members of the jury video surveillance footage from the back of the club. It showed Stay walking into the bar and up to a group of people who seem to greet him normally, before there's a visible commotion. While the video played, Stay's loved ones erupted into sobs — many calling out to the accused to 'burn in hell.' Stay, who was 36, was well known in the hip-hop scene among many renowned artists – including Eminem. His death drew tributes and memorials from the local community and fans. — with a file from Rebecca Lau For more on this story, watch the video above.
