Now younger, but also more heavily armed, rookie criminals who shoot indiscriminately on the streets of Montreal face stiffer penalties than ever before, prosecutors warn.
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“Gun violence is THE priority, denunciation and deterrence must come first [pour les sentences] even in the case of possession of a firearm without ammunition”, maintains Me Éric de Champlain, deputy chief prosecutor in the new organized crime team assigned to gun violence in Montreal.
In just a few years, the face of this type of crime has changed. We are far from the war of bikers, or from the not so distant time when shootings were only the business of organized crime.
Thus, since 2022, The newspaper indexed 25 firearms unloading files and more than thirty files concerning the possession of high capacity magazines. And in many cases, the defendants were born after the year 2000 (see box).
Collaboration
A team of 12 experienced Montreal prosecutors was therefore reoriented to adapt to this new reality. It only deals with this type of file, in the same way as the team which is only assigned to sexual crimes.
For example, it supports the police from the start of an investigation to ensure that each case can lead to a heavy conviction. And their expertise continues to improve due to close collaboration between police and prosecutors across Canada.
“Many of the accused try to flee, but they get caught and bring them back to Montreal,” warns the boss of Crown prosecutors in Montreal Me Rachelle Pitre, saying she is “extremely satisfied” with the results obtained in this day.
Me Rachelle Pitre, Chief Prosecutor of the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions in Montreal
Photo archives, Chantal Poirier
Contacted by The newspaperseveral criminal lawyers who requested anonymity so as not to interfere with their practice have noted that it is increasingly difficult to challenge firearms charges under the Canadian Charter of Rights and freedoms.
“The prosecutors are severe in this kind of case,” added one of them.
No pity
But lawyers are not alone in adapting to these changes. The courts too, by inflicting higher and higher penalties.
The Crown maintains that it is now successful in obtaining a prison sentence for almost all of its firearms cases.
A 20-year-old was even sentenced to 30 months in prison after being caught with an unloaded gun.
“Illegal possession of firearms and their use for criminal purposes must be clearly denounced and severely discouraged by harsher penalties,” the Court of Appeal recently ruled.
Because once in front of a judge, the criminals who puff out their chests in the street very often become much more docile in the hope of obtaining clemency from the court. With unconvincing results, given the scourge hitting the metropolis.
A recent report by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police also mentions a “maintenance of the intensity and frequency of firearm use events” in Montreal.
Last summer, four young people started shooting in the middle of the street at passers-by in the Rivière-des-Prairies district. The police had found a Glock type pistol, with a high capacity magazine
archival photo
Thus, the fear of a hot summer persists, due to weapons being sold in the snap of fingers on Snapchat, high-capacity magazines flooding the streets, easily accessible burst-firing mechanisms and, recently, pistols printed in 3D (see box).
“It is no longer rare to see events with 15 or 20 shots fired, we even see people who arm themselves because they feel in danger”, noted Mr.e of Champlain.
The new face of crime
Gun crime has changed a lot since the phenomenon of gun violence took hold in Montreal about four years ago. Here are some highlights.
Clandestine online gun shops
Once only sold on the dark web, guns can now be purchased directly on social media or via text.
Well aware of this arms trafficking, the authorities scour social networks and set up operations with double agents in order to pinch them.
This Taurus 4410 revolver, capable of firing hunting or .45 caliber ammunition, had been sold to a double agent by traffickers last fall in Montreal.
Courtesy
In the past two years, police have arrested more than 20 people openly offering guns for sale, the vast majority of whom were in their early twenties, according to data compiled by The newspaper.
The weapons sold were mostly 9mm pistols of the Glock type, but also semi-automatic rifles, mechanisms allowing to fire in bursts, large caliber ammunition and even silencers.
Barely out of adolescence and already subscribed to the courts
Accused in firearms cases are increasingly younger and often just out of their teens.
Recently, an RCMP detective sergeant pointed out to the court that it is “more and more young people […] with better quality firearms.
Recently, a 19-year-old Montrealer was sentenced to 27 months in prison for possession of a prohibited weapon because of his “criminal lifestyle” since adolescence.
“The belligerents do not seem easily deterred by the risks and repercussions associated with the possession and handling of these weapons,” lamented Judge Patricia Campagnone during the sentencing of a 27-year-old, who was already in his 14e criminal offense as an adult, in addition to the 22 offenses committed when he was a minor.
Families distraught over the violence of their children
Many parents are surprised to learn of the actions of their teenagers in the courtroom, despite their best intentions.
“They know little or nothing about the activities of their children, or even their work, their schooling or their criminality”, notes the Crown prosecutor, Ms.e Jean-Francois Roy.
Several parents have discovered that their youngster belongs to a street gang or the presence of a firearm in their house during a court visit, was able to observe The newspaper in the juvenile court.
“The absence or failure of a parent’s moral authority over his child when he was a child unfortunately does not bode well now that he is an adult,” worries Ms.e Roy.
3D printed weapons have come to town
Until recently, records of manufacturing firearms with 3D printers were practically non-existent in Montreal.
“But that’s what we are likely to see in the next few years, had recently entrusted to the Log Me Eric de Champlain, of the Crown. We are aware of the phenomenon and we are preparing for it.
Things quickly changed with the arrest in June of a 17-year-old teenager who allegedly made “ghost weapons” at his home, from plans unearthed on the internet.
The authorities dismantled a few weeks ago a Montreal network that manufactured and sold on the internet firearms produced with 3D printers. The police had made several arrests, including a 17-year-old teenager and Radwane Hamzi.
Courtesy
Then, two weeks ago, police across Canada seized more than 440 firearms and seized about 50 3D printers in a massive police operation. However, no arrests were made in Montreal.