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One of the drivers used in a drive-by shooting in Rivière-des-Prairies that killed three men and wounded two others three years ago maintains he didn’t know what was going to happen before the bullets started to fly.
Marlon Villa-Guzman, 28, was cross-examined Monday as the key witness in a trial in which three men are charged with three counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.
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The trio on trial are alleged to have killed Jerry Willer Jean-Baptiste, 29, Jafferson (Soldier) Syla, 29, and Molière Dantes, 63, and wounded two other men on Aug. 2, 2021.
On the day of the shooting, two cars drove by an apartment building on Perras Blvd. and three gunmen opened fire toward a ground-floor apartment, where several people were gathered inside and outside to celebrate a birthday.
In May, Villa-Guzman pleaded guilty to reduced charges of manslaughter and assault causing bodily harm and received a 10-year sentence for his role in the drive-by shooting. He admitted he was behind the wheel of a Pontiac Grand Prix used in the shooting. The other car used for the triple homicide was a Mazda.
When he began testifying last week, Villa-Guzman said one of the accused, his friend Clifford Domercant-Barosy, 29, was in the passenger seat of his car when he opened fire as they drove past the apartment. The other two men on trial are Jonas Castor, 26, and Stevenson Choute, 23. A minor who is alleged to have been a shooter in the Mazda was charged in youth court.
Last week, Villa-Guzman said very little about what he was told before and after the shooting occurred. The jury has been told 26 shots were fired in all. When Villa-Guzman mentioned that he believed the motive behind the shooting involved a conflict between two street gangs, the presiding judge in the trial, Superior Court Justice Alexandre Boucher, informed the jury that any evidence concerning street gangs is inadmissible in the trial.
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On Monday, Domercant-Barosy’s defence lawyer, Marc Labelle, began picking away at how Villa-Guzman agreed to drive his friend past the apartment a few times without knowing what his intentions were.
“What did you say (back in May when Villa-Guzman pleaded guilty to the reduced charges),” Labelle asked.
“I said I didn’t know it was going to happen,” said Villa-Guzman, who often speaks in very short sentences.
Labelle then asked the witness to explain what Domercant-Barosy said to him before he agreed to drive him to Rivière-des-Prairies. Villa-Guzman said his friend called him several hours before the shooting, but that very little was said between the two.
“He said the guys from R.D.P. were there,” Villa-Guzman said with no elaboration at all as to whether he knew who his friend was referring to.
He also said he initially refused to give Domercant-Barosy a lift by lying and claiming his car was broken. He said that, at the time, he didn’t like going out and preferred staying home. Hours later, Domercant-Barosy was climbing into his Grand Prix and advised him to take Highway 25 to get to Rivière-des-Prairies.
Before the cross-examination started, Villa-Guzman asked Boucher again if his testimony could be used against him. The judge reassured the witness that his testimony could not produce new criminal charges against him.
“Are you worried about being charged with perjury,” Labelle asked with the first question of the day.
“No,” Villa-Guzman replied.
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