A real estate developer from Joliette accused of attempted murder of a lawyer who represented the Desjardins Movement will be able to follow his trial remotely two days a week, due to traffic around the Louis-Hyppolite-La Fontaine tunnel.
“His reality does not differ from that of several workers who have to make the journey evening and morning, with the difference that the workers do not risk a long prison sentence,” judge Christian Jarry estimated Tuesday morning at the courthouse in Longueuil.
Jean-François Malo filed a request Monday morning at the Longueuil courthouse to obtain permission to follow his trial from home, by videoconference.
This is because the accused lives in Joliette, which is 70 km from the place where his trial is being held before Judge Jarry. His trial is scheduled for four weeks.
According to the prosecution’s theory, Malo would have sent two men to “assassinate” lawyer Nicholas Daudelin at his residence in Mont-Saint-Hilaire in March 2020. The victim was ultimately injured in one leg.
Traffic in the tunnel
Due to work in the Louis-Hyppolite-La Fontaine tunnel, Jean-François Malo must leave his home at 6:00 a.m. to arrive on time for his hearings. According to his calculations, he would spend five hours a day on the road.
The accused also suffers from sleep apnea, which causes him to have difficulty sleeping. His lawyer, Me Karl-Emmanuel Harrison, clarified the “dangerous nature of driving exhausted”.
“Sleep apnea cannot be a reason not to go to court,” said the Crown prosecutor, Ms.e Marilyn The Italian The White.
“I agree that some of the reasons alleged by the defendant, including sleep apnea, are a bit thin. However, I consider that it is well known that traffic around the bridge-tunnel is notoriously difficult,” ruled Judge Jarry.
Me The Italian Le Blanc offered the accused to rent a hotel room near the courthouse, which represents “a minimal cost, a fraction of what this trial costs”. A solution which was not accepted by the court.
By attending his trial remotely, the accused could be deprived of seeing certain videos only presented in court.
Several videos from surveillance cameras in the area of Mr. Daudelin’s residence were viewed in the afternoon.
Sûreté du Québec investigator David Godbout also showed videos of an apartment building, where a co-accused resided, in the hours following the crime. Several persons of interest were seen coming and going in the building. However, Jean-François Malo was not seen there.