The charges against Steve Gagnon, the driver responsible for the recent tragedy in Amqui, are gaining in number and gravity. He now faces 12 new charges, including 3 of first degree murder.
In his first and only appearance so far, on March 14, the 38-year-old man faced only three charges of dangerous driving causing death. The Crown prosecutor, Mr.e Simon Blanchette, had suggested that other charges could come.
It is now done. The driver must now respond to three charges of having premeditated the murders of Gérald Charest, Jean Lafrenière and Simon-Guillaume Bourget, three men who were killed in Steeve Gagnon’s mad dash on Saint-Benoît Boulevard.
At the wheel of his van, the accused had mowed down 12 people, including two children, who were walking downtown on a beautiful sunny afternoon. One of them, Pauline Desmarais, was still in critical condition according to the most recent report, shared by the CHU de Québec on March 20.
Steve Gagnon also faces nine charges of attempted murder against the nine people injured in the attack. These counts make the defendant liable to life imprisonment, with no possibility of release for 25 years in prison.
Mr. Gagnon must return to court on Wednesday for his investigation into his release.
In videos posted on Tik Tok in the weeks or even days before the crime, the man made rambling and illogical remarks where, from innocuous facts, he built outlandish theories about drugs, unions and Hollywood.