Steve Emmanuel Barthélémy, 34, one of two individuals accused of opening fire on Leonardo Rizzuto, younger son of former Montreal mafia godfather Vito Rizzuto, in March in Laval, failed on Friday in a second attempt to obtain his provisional release while awaiting further proceedings.
After requesting his provisional release in vain, in June before the Court of Quebec, Barthélémy presented to Judge Éric Downs of the Superior Court a request for review of his detention order made at first instance.
A publication ban prevents us from revealing the content of the evidence presented in Superior Court and from reporting 99 of the 101 paragraphs of Judge Downs’ 24-page decision rendered Friday morning at the Laval courthouse.
But the magistrate rejected the accused’s request.
“The Court concludes that the applicant’s complaints are unfounded and that the district judge did not render a manifestly inappropriate decision. Furthermore, the Court, like the trial judge, considers that the detention of the applicant is necessary so as not to undermine public confidence in the administration of justice,” declared Judge Downs.
“This conclusion is necessary when we consider the seriousness of the offenses, that they appear to be well-founded, the circumstances surrounding their commission and the fact that the applicant faces a significant prison sentence,” added the magistrate.
Shot in broad daylight on the highway
Barthélémy, who has no criminal record, and Kevin Rochebrun, 32, have been detained since June 19. They are charged with attempted murder, discharging a firearm while endangering life and being in a vehicle in which they knew there was a firearm.
Leonardo Rizzuto, 54, was shot in the legs and shoulder while alone in his Mercedes on westbound Highway 440 near Highway 13 around 4:30 p.m. March.
The projectiles were fired from a moving car that slowed down alongside Rizzuto’s vehicle, and Rizzuto then maneuvered his car several times to flee his attackers and stop in a business parking lot. where he was rescued.
Investigators from the National Squad for the Repression of Organized Crime (ENRCO), headed by the Sûreté du Québec, found the handgun that would have been used in the crime two weeks later, in a ditch on Montée Champagne, in the Sainte-Dorothée district of Laval.
In the hours following the attack, the media, citing police sources, explained that the crime could be linked to two murder attempts of which a former lieutenant of the Sicilian clan, Francesco Del Balso, was the victim in November 2022 and the following February.
Del Balso, 53, who had aligned himself with influential members of the Hells Angels, was assassinated on June 5.
A conflict related to the control of illegal sports betting would be the common denominator between these events.
Kevin Rochebrun also asked to be provisionally released before the Court of Quebec, but his release investigation is pending, because he had not presented a release plan. He is therefore still detained too.
To contact Daniel Renaud, call 514 285-7000, ext. 4918, write to [email protected] or write to the postal address of The Press.