SALABERRY DE VALLEYFIELD | A man has just been charged with negligent homicide of his neighbor after an argument escalated over a too loud party in the summer of 2020 acquitted.
The verdict for Deyver Andres Aguilar Céspedes just came down on Thursday afternoon at the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield courthouse.
The latter has been accused since June 2020 of unintentionally killing his neighbor Maxime-Alexandre Bélanger, 39 years old.
Maxime-Alexandre Bélanger, victim. Photo from the website gofundme.com
This summer, the 42-year-old man hosted a small Father's Day celebration in his backyard on Caron Street in Vaudreuil-Dorion on the night of June 21st.
At around 10:30 p.m., Mr. Bélanger, a bricklayer by profession, former soldier and family man, jumped over the fence that separated his garden from that of his rear neighbor to cause mischief in his neighbor's swimming pool with an Exacto.
Aguilar Céspedes then left his house with a knife, and an argument allegedly broke out between the two men.
The deceased probably hit the defendant in the back with a baseball bat, who stabbed him several times.
Mr. Bélanger died of blood loss shortly before midnight. Among other things, he was stabbed between the ribs.
The bloody place where Maxime Bélanger was found on the ground. Photo submitted as evidence in court
Shortly after the indictment, Céspedes, a local dental assistant, was released on several conditions pending trial.
His trial before Judge Bertrand St-Arnaud took place last spring.
His lawyers, myself Vincent Paquet and I Alexandre Paradis, convinced the court that it was self-defense.
More details to follow.