(Longueuil) A real estate developer accused of having hired henchmen to assassinate a Desjardins Movement lawyer failed Friday in his attempt to obtain a stay of proceedings due to the Jordan ruling. The trial of Jean-François Malo is therefore maintained next March.
The 45-year-old man, a major real estate developer from Joliette, has been facing serious criminal charges since 2020: attempted murder, discharging a firearm with the intent to endanger life, obstructing justice and intimidation. His trial is scheduled for this spring at the Longueuil courthouse.
Jean-François Malo considered his fundamental rights violated by the length of the legal process. In his eyes, the period of 45 months and 25 days between his indictment and the end of the trial far exceeded the ceilings of 18 and 30 months dictated by the Supreme Court in the Jordan decision.
However, Judge Dannie Leblanc rejected Malo’s claims on Friday, determining that the actual delay was in fact approximately 24 months. The case was in fact delayed by almost two years by the departure of a lawyer from Malo in January 2022. Me Karl-Emmanuel Harrison believed that his client was unable to pay his fees and asked to cease being involved in the case.
At the time, the judge well informed Jean-François Malo of the consequences on deadlines if he agreed to relieve the lawyer. However, the accused still wanted to be represented by this lawyer, even if it meant filing a request to ask that the State help him pay for his defense – rejected in August 2023. The judge then informed him that this position risked excluded from the trial with his two co-defendants.
“It appears obvious from the Court’s opinion that the applicant was aware of the repercussions of his choices and his financial situation, which would inevitably lead to a delay in the holding of his trial,” concludes Judge Leblanc.
While proceedings in the Malo case dragged on, his alleged accomplices Daouda Dieng and Cheikh Ahmed Tidiane Ndiaye were found guilty of discharging a firearm in a dangerous manner and were sentenced to 9 and 10 years in detention in May 2023.
The two men showed up at the home of lawyer Nicholas Daudelin in March 2020 and opened fire. The lawyer was hit in one leg during the attack. Me Daudelin represented Desjardins Movement in a case concerning real estate developer Jean-François Malo.
In an interview with TVA Nouvelles last December, Jean-François Malo proclaimed his innocence.
Despite the rejection of his Jordan request, Malo continues to hope for the trial to be aborted. Another request to this effect must be pleaded in the coming days at the Joliette courthouse.
Me Edith Lafontaine, Me Marilyn L’Italien-Leblanc and Me Tian Meng represents the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions in this case. Me Harrison defends the accused.