Posted at 5:00 a.m.
A hardened criminal on parole who set fire to the office of a criminal lawyer in 2020 was sentenced this week to five years in prison, a “relatively lenient” sentence. Khodr Kanaan was performing a “contract” for a mysterious sponsor.
“No one can ignore that throwing a Molotov cocktail at the office of a criminal lawyer is a gesture of intimidation towards this lawyer,” Judge Mélanie Hébert concluded on Tuesday at the Montreal courthouse.
A year after his arrest, the 33-year-old Longueuil resident pleaded guilty last month to counts of arson posing a danger to human life, possession of incendiary material and possession of explosive substances while prohibited from doing so.
Khodr Kanaan’s target was a law firm located at 500 Place d’Armes in Montreal. This office tower houses the offices of several of the most prominent criminal lawyers in Quebec. A publication ban, however, prohibits us from identifying the victim, which is unusual for such an offence.
The day before the crime, Khodr Kanaan first scouted the scene, accompanied by a cousin. Then, the next day, November 6, 2020, the arsonist returned to the scene and threw a Molotov cocktail in front of the law office. Fortunately, the fire was quickly brought under control, as housekeeping employees raised the alarm.
The evidence against Khodr Kanaan, aka Wassim Awan, was overwhelming. Not only was a lighter with traces of his DNA found on the ground, but in addition, his GPS bracelet seems to confirm his presence at the scene. Not to mention the videos from surveillance cameras.
Khodr Kanaan says he fulfilled this “contract” because he owed money to another halfway house resident whom he feared. A version rejected by Judge Hébert who does not believe that the accused was a “mere executor”. The judge, however, believes that the accused was fulfilling a “contract”, since he had no connection with the victim. The identity of the sponsor of the crime is not specified in the decision.
Involved in another matter
At the time, Khodr Kanaan had been on parole for more than two years and was residing in a halfway house. He was released on statutory release in 2018 after serving eight years in an extremely violent home invasion case in Waterville in 2010.
Khodr Kanaan and his accomplices had pretended to conduct a sounding to break into a man’s house and tie him up. For two hours, the assailants had given the man a nightmare by beating him with kicks, chairs and firearms. They had even threatened to cut off his fingers and kill him.
The fact of having targeted the office of a criminal lawyer is an “aggravating” factor in this case, considers judge Mélanie Hébert.
Such a crime indeed undermines the sense of security of lawyers and has consequences for the entire legal community, agree the Crown and the defense.
For the arson chief, the defense suggested two and a half years in prison, a sentence “far too lenient”, according to the judge. Instead, it retained the four-year sentence proposed by the Crown. Although “relatively lenient”, this suggestion “appears fairer”, maintains the judge. A one-year sentence is added for another count.
The aggregate penalty is five years’ imprisonment, less 18 months’ preventive detention.
Me Michael Bourget represented the public prosecutor, while the accused was defended by Mr.e Noemie Tellier.