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Four men were sentenced to prison terms of between eight and 12 years at the Montreal courthouse after they pleaded guilty to charges related to two shootings in Rivière-des-Prairies where the victims, including a woman who was shot three times, were chosen at random.
The men pleaded guilty to charges before Superior Court Justice Marc David on Tuesday. The charges involved two shootings that took place over the course of two days during August 2022.
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All four of the men — Josué Agnant, 23, Emmanuel Bruno, 22, Dardy Lavaud, 20, and Robby Valère 25 — admitted they played a role in the second shooting. It was carried out near midnight on Aug. 11, 2022, outside a restaurant on Maurice-Duplessis Blvd.
An employee of the restaurant had stepped outside to get some fresh air during his break while a woman exited her vehicle and headed toward the eatery.
According to a joint statement of facts filed into the court record when the men pleaded guilty: “Four individuals dressed in black approached the restaurant on foot and opened fire toward the victims.
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“The (woman) was hit in the left shoulder, the right thigh near the artery as well as the foot. One of the shooters then approached the (restaurant employee) and pointed his weapon at the man’s head. The (employee) begged the shooter not to shoot and then heard several additional detonations. The (employee) was not injured.”
The restaurant employee told police he saw two of the shooters and that they were using pistols equipped with blue lights. He said “they were shooting non-stop” and that the taller of the two shooters discharged his firearm toward him. The taller man was Lavaud, and he “pointed his weapon at point blank range at (the restaurant employee’s) head.”
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Lavaud is one of the four men who pleaded guilty to charges filed in the earlier shooting.
In that case, at 10:14 p.m. on Aug. 10, 2022, a woman was heading to a parking lot on Pierre-Bonne St. where she planned to meet two friends. She said noticed that a silver Hyundai Elantra was following her and that she accelerated to get away from the Elantra. When she arrived at the parking lot, her car was struck by several bullets fired by two people seated in the other vehicle.
According to the statement of facts: “The (woman) did not see the shooters, but noticed that a laser was pointed in her direction and believes there were several shooters. Although her vehicle had several projectile impacts, including three through the windshield, she was not injured.
“The victim was chosen at random,” according to the statement.
Thirty-one spent shell casings were recovered at the scene of the shooting on Pierre-Bonne St. Lavaud admitted he fired 24 shots and that he intended to injure a person.
Forty-nine spent shell casings were found at the second shooting, outside the restaurant. Police believe those victims were also chosen at random.
Minutes after the second shooting, two police officers on patrol came across the Elantra and noticed the men inside were dressed in black, which matched descriptions provided by witnesses who called 911. A chase began and, a short while later, the officers spotted the car overturned; three men exited it.
The officer who arrested Lavaud noticed he was wearing a bulletproof vest and had a high-capacity loading clip attached to his belt.
On Tuesday, Lavaud pleaded guilty to three counts of discharging a firearm with the intent to injure. He also pleaded guilty to possessing a loaded and restricted firearm and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
The judge agreed with a recommendation that Lavaud be sentenced to a 12.5-year prison term.
Bruno was sentenced to an eight-year prison term while Agnant and Valère were sentenced to 11 years and 10 years respectively.
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