WARNING: This story contains details that some readers may find disturbing

Julian Desjarlais told a Saskatoon court that getting branded with red-hot kitchen knives turned out to be just the beginning of his ordeal.

The 27-year-old testified that he figured out during a brutal assault that his assailants were looking to send a serious message to the Terror Squad, a gang they believed Desjarlais was a member of.

Desjarlais claimed that Matthew Gamble said, "I want to torture you and kill you," after sawing off Desjarlais's ring finger with "a Crocodile Dundee" knife.

"I accepted the fact I was going to die a slow, painful death there," Desjarlais said.

Desjarlais told his story Monday at Court of Queen's Bench in Saskatoon. Matthew Gamble is charged with aggravated assault and unlawful confinement in connection with the May 16, 2017 incident.

The courts are taking the set of allegations seriously enough that police were posted in the courtroom and hallway. The trial switched courtrooms to provide greater physical distance between the accused and Desjarlais.

'I thought IP and TS were supposed to be cool with each other'

Under questioning by prosecutor Michael Pilon, Desjarlais said it all began early in the morning on May 16, 2017. He'd had breakfast at the Friendship Inn on 20th Street and then left intending to sell some clothing and a jar of whey protein powder he had packed in a knapsack.

He said he was also looking for some crystal meth to buy.

A group of people near the Friendship Inn directed him to a house on the 500 block of Avenue G South as having possible buyers for his goods.

Desjarlais said he went up the back stairs of the raised bungalow and knocked on the door, which was opened by a woman he knew as "Baby D." She yelled down the stairs that "Julio" was there.

Desjarlais said that Julio is a name used for him by people on the street.

Desjarlais was wearing black clothing that day — a signifier of Terror Squad gang members — but testified that he had only spent a month in the gang before leaving.

The three men who came up the basement stairs were wearing red, a colour associated with the Indian Posse, but that he wasn't overly concerned. He recognized one as "Mowgli," a man he'd previously brought drugs from.

"I thought IP and TS were supposed to be cool with each other," he said.

It turns out he was wrong.

'I'm going to cut off your wedding finger so you can't get married'

The three men wrestled Desjarlais down the narrow basement stairs into a small suite. At that point, he said it became apparent that "they were trying to get revenge for something done to them."

He said they beat him and wrestled him to the ground. Then he noticed the glowing red knives jammed into a stove element.

Desjarlais said the three men took off his black jersey and white undershirt and then used the heated blades to burn "IP" on his upper right chest and "TSK" on his left chest. He was told the second burn stood for "Terror Squad Killer." Then they burned his side, underarms and back.

Photos taken later at hospital and shown in court revealed the crude brands.

As soon as I felt the sun on my skin I started running for the river. - Julian Desjarlais

Desjarlais said that Matthew Gamble, who he knew as Mowgli, then produced a "Crocodile Dundee" knife, so-named because of its foot-long blade.

"I'm going to cut off your wedding finger so you can't get married."

Desjarlais said Gamble severed most of the finger, then used a heated kitchen knife blade to finish the job.

By this point, Desjarlais said the two other men had wandered away, leaving him with Gamble and the woman.

They instructed him to clean up his own blood. After using his T-shirt to smear it around the floor, he asked for a fresh cloth and some bleach.

He says that when Gamble went for the bleach, he was able to smash the window in the basement suite and flee.

"As soon as I felt the sun on my skin I started running for the river," he said.

Desjarlais stands by identification of accused

Defence lawyer Laura Mischuk cross-examined Desjarlais over apparent discrepancies between his testimony Monday and what he said at the preliminary hearing.

Desjarlais acknowledged that there were inconsistencies on some fronts, for example whether he was knocked unconscious before being taken to the basement suite.

Mischuk asked whether it's possible that Desjarlais may have mixed up Gamble with the two other men, but he stayed firm on identifying Gamble as his assailant.

The trial continues Tuesday.