Two young men already known to the authorities were arrested on Friday in connection with the arson which tragically cost the lives of two people in Old Montreal last week.
The two men, aged 18 and 20, were arrested respectively in the boroughs of Saint-Laurent and Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, reported the Police Service of the City of Montreal (SPVM) at a press conference on Friday. .
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
A search took place in the borough of Saint-Laurent in connection with the case.
The SPVM indicated that the two suspects were “associated with different groups”, without specifying which ones.
The oldest lit the blaze using an incendiary object, while the youngest drove the vehicle which allowed the suspects to flee the scene of the crime. According to our information, they started another arson attack in Verdun earlier in the same night.
According to our research, the oldest of the suspects was found guilty, following an offense committed on April 30, 2023 in Laval, of arson and unauthorized possession of a firearm on board a a vehicle. The denunciation indicates that he had set fire to the car of the son of Marco Pizzi, an important player in the Montreal mafia according to the police. The firearm found was a Glock Polymer80.
He was sentenced to 285 days of detention on January 17. He would have been released from prison during the summer.
The charges that will be brought against the two suspects will soon be known, said Commander Jean-Sébastien Caron, head of the Major Crimes Section.
Quickly, on the social network X, Mayor Valérie Plante praised the work of the police. “I congratulate the SPVM teams who made rapid arrests in connection with the fire in Old Montreal. These criminal acts will never be tolerated and the guilty will face justice. These arrests are a show of force by the SPVM which will continue to shed light on this criminal act,” she said.
“I would like to congratulate the police for their investigation. I would like to once again offer my condolences to the family of the victims. Out of respect for the judicial process, I will not be able to comment further,” declared the Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel.
Public inquiry
Two people lost their lives in this fire. They are Léonor Geraudie, aged 43, and her 7-year-old daughter, Vérane, French nationals. Two other people were injured. At the time of the disaster, there were 25 people in the building.
Earlier this week, Quebec’s chief coroner ordered a public inquiry into this tragedy. It could be combined with that relating to the fire at Place D’Youville, which caused seven victims in 2023. But for the moment, neither investigation can start until the criminal proceedings are completed.
The two buildings are the property of Émile Benamor, a controversial lawyer who sued the City for 7.5 million a few months ago, alleging several faults in matters of fire prevention – the Superior Court however ruled in favor of the City on the majority of points.
The first, that of Place D’Youville, was used in particular for short-term tourist rentals on the Airbnb platform, the second as a youth hostel.
According to several police sources, it was the Arab Power organization which could be at the origin of last Friday’s fire. This group would take advantage of the debt of traders and restaurateurs caused by the pandemic to commit acts of extortion, players in the restaurant sector said with concern.
What you need to know
- On the night of October 3 to 4, a violent fire of criminal origin broke out in a heritage building in Old Montreal, where 25 people were present. Two of them, a mother and her 7-year-old daughter, who were traveling, died in the blaze.
- The building ravaged by the flames belongs to Émile Benamor, also owner of the building in Old Montreal that burned down in March 2023, where seven people lost their lives. The two investigations could be combined.
- The tragedy that occurred last Friday could be the most recent episode of an extortion war between three criminal groups in Montreal, according to police sources.
With The Canadian Press