The lifelong criminal who signed on to become a police agent in a Cranbrook investigation was later convicted of several counts of assault following his role in the sting.

Garry Shank was in the third day of cross-examination Friday in the murder conspiracy trial of three men. Lonnie Adams, Lorne Carry and Colin Correia are charged with conspiracy to commit murder for events that occurred in 2009 and 2010.

Shank signed on in 2010 to become a police agent, signing a contract and wearing a recording device as he allegedly plotted with the three men in RCMP scenarios to kill a drug rival.

But early last year — after the close of the investigation and awaiting his chance to testify in the murder conspiracy —  Shank got into a heated fight with his girlfriend in Winnipeg that ended up with him assaulting police.

Shank pleaded guilty to one count of assault against his girlfriend and two counts of assaulting a police officer for events in January last year. He received a jail sentence of 118 days — time served in jail awaiting outcome of the matter.

“Not only did you break her skull open, she fell to the floor . . . then she wakes up and you yell at her to clean it (blood) up,” defence lawyer Jim Heller told Carry.

Shank testified that when Winnipeg police attended to the report of a domestic dispute, he was Tasered three times, struck with police batons and hit with bear spray. Police didn’t remove his handcuffs, even after he was put in cells.

Shank testified that his RCMP handlers who worked with him during the Cranbrook scenarios came to visit him while he sat in a Manitoba jail on the charges.

“I saw them twice,” he said, adding they paid him $100 on one occasion and $165 on the other.

Heller also asked Shank why he’s occasionally told people that he has cancer.

“. . . I lie all the time,” he said. “That’s what people do.”

The trial started in February and is expected to last three months.