Fatal drive-by shooting in R.D.P. occurred in mere seconds, jury hears

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The drive-by shooting in Rivière-des-Prairies that took the lives of three men and injured two other victims three years ago was carried out in a matter of seconds.

On Friday, a jury at the Montreal courthouse hearing the trial of three men — Jonas Castor, 26, Stevenson Choute, 23, and Clifford Domercant-Barosy, 29 — was shown a video of two vehicles moving along Perras Blvd., near 53rd Ave., on the evening of Aug. 2, 2021, when three men fired shots from inside a Pontiac Grand Prix and a Mazda toward a group of men who were gathered inside and outside a ground-floor apartment to celebrate a birthday.

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The men killed in the shooting were Jerry Willer Jean-Baptiste, 29, Jafferson (Soldier) Syla, 29, and Molière Dantes, 63. Two other men were injured. The men on trial are charged with three counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.

Jean-Baptiste was standing outside the apartment, next to a gas barbecue, when he was struck in the back of his head. He died at the scene of the crime. The other two homicide victims were inside the apartment and were struck by bullets that travelled through the windows of the apartment.

Montreal police Det. David Simard explained to the jury how the video, recorded by a surveillance camera mounted above a patio outside the apartment directly above the one where the victims were shot, was the starting point in the investigation as police worked to trace the paths of the black Pontiac Grand Prix and the light coloured Mazda used in the shooting.

While it is difficult to make out what is happening in the video, Simard said it revealed one gunman was in the front passenger seat of the Grand Prix, while two shooters were in the front and back passenger seats of the Mazda.

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The video reveals how 26 shots were fired off in a matter of mere seconds as the vehicles passed by from left to right of the frame of the video. Several people are heard shouting after the shots were fired and one man who was at the apartment appeared to limp into the camera frame before he shouts something toward the two fleeing vehicles and then limps in the opposite direction.

Simard said investigators were able to find footage from other cameras that placed the vehicles in other locations, including Montreal North.

In her opening statement to the jury earlier this week, prosecutor Claude Berlinguette-Auger said the Mazda was never located and the driver of one of the vehicles, who has since become a witness for the prosecution, will eventually testify he was with Domercant-Barosy, after the shooting, when he sold the Grand Prix to a scrap dealer for $500. 

The prosecutor also said the firearms used in the shooting were never found but, on Thursday, crime scene technician Lysiane Dubreuil showed the jury photos of a firearm that was found inside the apartment were the victims were shot.

Other photos taken by the crime scene technician revealed how some of the bullets fired ended up damaging the front exterior brick wall of the building as well as vehicles parked on Perras Blvd., including a Porsche.

The trial will resume on Monday.

pcherry@postmedia.com

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