Law & Disorder Volume 1

Alleged murderer might benefit from indemnity

The Society of the Quebec Automobile Insurance may by law, be obliged to indemnify the father of the three daughters found dead in a car at the bottom of the Rideau Canal in Kingston. In an interview, former Justice Minister, Marc Bellemare, has confirmed that Mohammad Shafia, accused of murdering his three daughters may be eligible to receive $49, 000 for each of the three deaths, even if he is convicted of the murders! LINK(fr)


Sixty days in jail for $3.37 theft
"A young man will spend the next 60 days in jail after stealing a beer from a convenience store in Quebec. He stole the $3.37 beer to celebrate having just gotten out of jail." LINK


Stop the Deportation of Dany Villanueva !
Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) began the process of trying to deport Dany Villanueva from Canada, by attempting to remove his permanent residency status. You'll recall that he was at the center of a Montreal police arrest attempt that led to a confrontation wherein his brother Fredy was shot and killed. The career criminal is a member of a Montreal North street gang and is currently facing more criminal charges. He is being supported in his efforts to stave off deportation by an anti-police organization known as the "Coalition contre la Répression et les Abus Policiers" (Coalition against Police repression and abuse.) The group is better known by its acronym - "C.R.A.P." Yup, no joke! LINK(fr)

Swift justice for some, but not all!
A 31-year-old man became involved in a mid-air altercation with a fellow passenger aboard an Air Canada flight which resulted in a forced landing at Montreal's Trudeau International Airport.
The very next day he appeared in court and was sentenced to a 30-day jail term for disturbing the peace. That was quick! LINK

Meanwhile, a former Rwandan ambassador to Canada lost a court case in a 12-year attempt to avoid deportation. The Canadian government has been trying to kick him out since 1998, alleging that he was a senior member of a regime that engaged in "systematic or gross human rights violations or war crimes or crimes against humanity." The judge noted that Segasayo has not exhausted all legal avenues to remain in Canada, and that he still had the right to make a case to stay on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. Another 12 years, perhaps?

$500,000 embezzlement doesn't bother company
An employee of a Montreal packaging company embezzled close to half a million dollars from his union over a period of a couple of years. His union reported the theft to the police and the employee was charged with fraud.
As for the company, it said that the incident was none of their business, as it was a 'union' affair and told the man that he could keep his job. Unfortunately for the company he''ll have to serve a three year jail term before going back to work...


Murderer kills parents and then collects inheritance.

Despite having murdered his parents by decapitation with an axe in 2007, Alain Piche will still get his inheritance after the Quebec's Court of Appeal overturned a 2008 Superior Court. The appellate court decided that the murderer cannot be held responsible for the deaths because his mental condition robbed him of the ability to differentiate between right and wrong. LINK

Novel defences offered in court.
Valère Audy writes in La Voix de l'Est about three defendants who offered some creative arguments in their various trials.
Scott Chase of Waterloo is appealing his life sentence because he objected to the judge's instruction to the jury that neither jealousy nor intoxication can be used as a defence for the brutal murder of a woman.
André-Louis Lemaire of Tropicana was convicted of abusing children who were aged between two and ten years old. The paedophile told the court that he shouldn't be blamed because it was the victims fault for 'enticing and provoking' him...
Alexandre Fournier of Dunham was convicted in the death of a passenger when he crashed his car at 174 kilometres an hour. The young man  blamed the accident on the fact that cars shouldn't be designed to go that fast.


Career Criminal asks for bail
When you read about crooks like this, it makes you wish that Canada would employ the three strike law.
Mario Moreau, a 40 year old man from Shawinigan, has 44 robberies and break-ins to his credit, as well as several stints in prison.
In his most recent trial, Patrick Masson, an investigator for the provincial police, reported to the judge that the career criminal left his fingerprints in a residence in Grand-Mere where a TV and other  valuables were stolen.
On April 19, 2009, according to information obtained by the investigator,  Moreau stole a wallet in a vehicle and allegedly used the credit cards in amounts totalling $347.
In August 16, 2009, Mario Moreau allegedly tried to sell some dresses stolen at a shop where a sizable amount of money was stolen as well as a computer.

In September 2009, his fingerprints were found at the scene of another break-in.
On the night of October 12, 2009,  the owner of a carpet store, which was closed at the time, came face to face with Moreau who explained that he was just looking for bottles because he needed money, before fleeing.
He broke into a home in Lac a la Tortue in January and  stole an amplifier, a violin and jewelry valued at approximately $3,500. His fingerprints were found on a mirror.

Finally,  police caught up with him at a motel, but he escaped by removing an air conditioner from the wall and scampering away, leaving his girlfriend behind.

After the lengthy summary by the police investigator in court describing Moreau's recent criminal exploits, the defendant's lawyer asked the Judge to release the defendant on bail into his mother's care.

The crown attorney almost fell off her chair at the chutzpah and objected, stating that the evidence against Moreau was rock solid and that in addition to his many previous crimes and convictions, he had breached bail conditions 17 times before!  

Do you think he got bail?
No..... not even in Quebec.