The man accused of shooting a police officer last winter and then murdering a fellow detainee is technically fit to stand trial, we learned on Monday. However, due to his erratic behavior during the hearing, Ali Ngarukiye will have to appear in person before the judge on Wednesday.
It was flanked by two employees dressed in head-to-toe suits that Ali Ngarukiye appeared by videoconference from the Philippe Pinel psychiatric institute. The accused was wearing blue surgical gloves, while a sheet was placed over his shoulders. Her hands were tied to her chair with handcuffs and chains.
According to Judge Salvatore Mascia, the 22-year-old man meets the “minimum requirement” to be deemed fit to stand trial. At the request of the defense, the accused had undergone a new psychiatric assessment on this issue. In mid-November, psychiatrists determined that Ali Ngarukiye could be held criminally responsible for his actions.
During the hearing on Monday noon, his lawyer Me Lloyd Fischler initially said he had not seen or spoken to his client for two months. When he asked the accused if he was okay and wanted to talk to him, the latter was silent. “We will not advance so much today,” said Judge Mascia.
But Ali Ngarukiye finally expressed himself by throwing in English: “Come on, it’s you who must speak, man! I told you to talk ”. The accused then seemed to be talking to himself. He then turned to one of the guards and said, “Why are you standing behind me man, stand here? [à ses côtés], I won’t do anything to you ”.
Crown Attorney Me Louis Bouthillier underlined the “lack of communication” between the accused and his lawyer. It was thus agreed that the case be postponed until Wednesday, with the presence in person of the accused at the Montreal courthouse.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFACON, ARCHIVES THE PRESS
Crown Attorney Me Louis Bouthillier
However, its presence could prove difficult. Last month, Ali Ngarukiye was not present in person, as agreed, due to his dangerousness. “He is aggressive and represents a threat to the safety of everyone,” said Judge André Perreault.
To bring him in person in front of the judge, his convoy should have been escorted by the “SWAT team”, that is to say the Tactical Intervention Group of the Montreal police force, had even specified the judge.
Ali Ngarukiye is accused of having tried to kill the policeman Sanjay Vig in the Parc-Extension district. The case made headlines last winter, when an unblemished citizen, Mamadi Camara, was unfairly accused of the crime. Victim of an error on the person, he was finally released six days later and cleared on the whole line by the police department.
Two months later, Ali Ngarukiye was arrested in Toronto for this crime. During his preventive detention, he allegedly murdered his roommate André Lapierre. The latter was found dead in the cell he shared with Ali Ngarukiye. He therefore faces a charge of murder and contempt of a corpse.