A young resident of Laval who saw fit to ignore the curfew during the pandemic While hiding a loaded semi-automatic pistol in his pocket, he was just convicted of possession of a firearm, although he tried to shift the blame Friend who knew nothing.
“His thesis is certainly possible, but it is not reasonable,” Judge David Simon recently ruled, summarily dismissing Jude Olivier Gauthier at the Montreal courthouse.
Gauthier, 23, will undoubtedly remember his evening of May 5, 2021. At the time, Quebec was in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic and the government had imposed a nighttime curfew. At the time, it was known that anyone who went out without permission would be arrested.
However, this did not prevent the defendant from dating another person, even if the court imposed a similar curfew in addition to health measures in a criminal case in Laval. And Gauthier had gone out with a gun, even though the court had apparently forbidden him from being armed.
Photo submitted as evidence in the case of Jew Olivier Gauthier, guilty of having a loaded firearm in his possession while violating curfew during the pandemic in Montreal. Courtesy of the court. Courtesy of the court
Bad choose
Together they used the Uber service to go to the entertainment district. However, they were intercepted by police officers when they got out of the vehicle.
“The defendant carries a black and blue Adidas branded bag in one hand. THE [coaccusé]“He has nothing in his hand,” the judge explained based on police witness statements.
Until then, Gauthier only risked a simple fine for ignoring health measures. However, when it came time to identify himself, Gauthier had the bad idea of being “arrogant” and giving a false identity. After checking, officers determined that there was no one with the name given by the defendant, so they had grounds to arrest him for obstruction.
And as he was carrying a bag, police searched it and found “some sort of copy of a 1991 Colt” inside. It was actually this model of firearm, caliber 22LR.
“The weapon was functional,” the judge explained. Nine bullets were found in the magazine. Nobody was housed in chambers.”
Photo submitted as evidence in the case of Jew Olivier Gauthier, guilty of having a loaded firearm in his possession while violating curfew during the pandemic in Montreal. Courtesy of the court. Courtesy of the court
No doubt
Gauthier was caught red-handed and arrested along with his co-defendant. However, he was acquitted because there was nothing to indicate that he knew his friend was running around with a restricted firearm.
This had led Gauthier to raise reasonable doubts, as it was possible that the bag belonged to his friend who had “forgotten” it in the Uber and that he had picked it up without knowing what it contained.
Although this theory seemed tempting, it did not deceive the judge, who, after a comprehensive analysis of all the evidence, concluded that it was unfounded. Gauthier was therefore found guilty and will appear in court tomorrow to give his opinion on the sentence to be imposed on him.