The twenty individuals linked to the police strike against criminal groups operating in the greater Quebec region paraded before the court on Wednesday and all remain detained for the moment.
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All of the people arrested since last Friday were back in court, mostly by videoconference, after having appeared in recent days on a host of charges. All but one are linked to Dave “Pic” Turmel’s gang, Blood Family Mafia (BFM) according to sources.
Crown prosecutors involved in the various cases informed the court that the disclosure of the evidence was still continuing. Given the scale of the operation, the volume of police reports and interrogations to be processed is significant.
In total, according to a compilation by the Journal, 24 people have currently been charged in connection with Operation Scandaleux. Nine of them are notably involved in the hostage-taking which caused one victim in Saint-Malachie.
“Photo Agency QMI”
The last individual arrested, Danny Royer, appeared in court in the afternoon to face a charge of aggravated assault and another of forcible confinement in an event that occurred on February 4, in Quebec. The 41-year-old man’s case has been postponed until March 14.
All detained
Due to the incomplete evidence, all of the defendants remained in custody beyond the usual three-day period. Their release hearing will be held at a later date.
Some of the co-defendants are also subject to bans on contact with each other for the duration of the proceedings. This is the case of Francis Gauthier-Marcoux and Bianca Simard, both accused of two counts of attempted murder for a shooting that occurred on November 3. It should be noted that the two are a couple and are parents of a child.
Francis Gauthier-Marcoux and Bianca Simard.
Courtesy
Prosecutors also informed some defendants of the possibility of seeing their cases increase in the coming days. This is the case of Maxime Maheux, currently accused of arson.
It is also not excluded that other individuals still at large could be arrested in connection with these cases.
New leaders‘charge
New charges were also filed against three accused on Wednesday, namely Pierre Karl Horkheimer, Francis Gauthier-Marcoux and Bianca Simard. The three individuals had already appeared to face one count of attempted murder over the weekend, but the case became clearer on Wednesday.
The three now face two counts of attempted murder for discharging a firearm at a vehicle where two people were traveling on Highway 40 on November 3. The event occurred in broad daylight, near avenue Le Gendre.
Two other people had already been arrested in connection with these shootings, Sara Terzini and Tommy Trépanier.