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One of the two men who were behind the steering wheels of cars used in a drive-by shooting carried out in the Rivière-des-Prairies—Pointe-aux-Trembles borough and resulted in the deaths of three men in 2021 began testifying against his alleged accomplices in a murder trial at the Montreal courthouse on Wednesday
Marlon Villa-Guzman, 28, introduced himself to the jury hearing the trial and informed the panel that he is currently serving a 10-year sentence after he pleaded guilty to reduced charges of manslaughter and aggravated assault. Initially, he was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and two of attempted murder. He is now a witness for the prosecution.
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Superior Court Justice Alexandre Boucher noted to the jury that changes were made inside the courtroom to facilitate Villa-Guzman’s testimony. For example, temporary panels were put in place to prevent some people from seeing what he looks like.
The drive-by shooting took place on Aug. 2, 2021. Some of the victims were outside an apartment building on Perras Blvd., near 53rd Ave., and others were inside seated inside near the patio window of the ground-floor apartment.
The two vehicles passed by just before 7 p.m. and 26 shots were fired. The bullets struck people both outside and inside the apartment. 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: Jonas Castor, 26; Stevenson Choute, 23; and Clifford Domercant-Barosy, 29. They are charged with three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of discharging a firearm.
While answering questions from prosecutor Louis Bouthillier, Villa-Guzman said he was working as a courier before “the event” and that he grew up in Montreal North, where he lived most of his life. He also said his current home is a penitentiary.
After going over a short list of the vehicles he owned in 2021, Villa-Guzman told the jury he got rid of his Pontiac Grand Prix the day after the victims were killed. He purchased the Grand Prix in December 2020.
“I kept it until the day after the event, the shooting,” he said. “I got rid of it.”
“Why did you get rid of it,” the prosecutor asked.
“On Aug. 2, the vehicle was implicated in this shooting. I was the driver at that moment. I drove the Grand Prix,” Villa Guzman replied.
He added that he woke up the day after the shooting and went to work as usual. He told the jury he was making his usual route when Domercant-Barosy called him and told him to get rid of the Grand Prix. At the start of the trial, the jury was informed that Domercant-Barosy is alleged to be one of three people who opened fire on the victims.
Villa-Guzman will resume his testimony Wednesday afternoon.
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