A young criminal who filmed himself on Snapchat after losing the GTI has just been convicted of driving into the police and throwing his gun out the window as he fled.
On July 29, 2020, the Montreal Police Service’s Tactical Intervention Group (GTI) carried out an operation to intercept Grolls Septus, 23 years old.
The police then wanted to arrest him in connection with an attempted murder that had occurred in the previous days. Septus was never charged in this case.
Shortly after 1:00 p.m., Septus was observed sitting in his BMW vehicle parked on rue d’Amos, in Montreal North, chatting with two other people.
An unmarked car from the GTI then parked at an angle to the BMW to prevent him from leaving the scene.
“One of the officers kicks the driver’s side windshield of the BMW using a window breaker. Another officer sent a plastic projectile that caused a hole in the rear bumper,” reads the judgment rendered Friday by Judge Flavia K. Longo at the Montreal courthouse.
The accused, however, decided to put his vehicle in reverse and came very close to crushing the shins of a police officer.
Then, “the accused presses the accelerator and flees in the direction of the agents […] while hooking up the GTI vehicle,” it says.
The GTI then makes the decision not to follow him, “since his driving is too dangerous”.
Gun out the window
During his escape, the accused threw a Gucci bag out of the window of his vehicle, which landed on a residential lot.
Photo filed in court
A surveillance camera captured the occupants of a residence finding the bag where Septus’ weapon was hidden.
An air conditioning technician who worked at this address quickly took the bag, then found that a loaded firearm was inside.
The defendant’s DNA was found on a surgical mask that was also in the shoulder bag.
Photo filed in court
The gun loaded with Grolls Septus was found in a Gucci satchel by a worker.
Snapchat Videos
Septus then posted four videos to his personal Snapchat account.
In some recordings, the accused is heard shouting obscenities such as “Fuck SWAT [GTI]or “You are all snitches [des délateurs]”. In others, the windshield of the white BMW he is driving is seen to be damaged.
However, these videos were viewed moments after they were posted by a local police officer, who was using a fake account to view the accounts of “several known subjects”.
This patrolman testified at trial that Septus was a “subject of interest” in Montreal North and that he was seen every week in a quadrilateral of the borough “known for crimes associated with street gangs, shootings and the drug trafficking”.
Septus has previously been convicted of drug possession for the purpose of trafficking and is awaiting trial for firearms offences.
Pursuit on the highway
The GTI officers finally managed to arrest Septus at the end of the day, when he was in another car on Highway 20 West, very close to the Ontario border.
An officer had to point his semi-automatic rifle at the window on the passenger side, where Septus was, but the latter “does not comply or cooperate”, we read in the judgment.
The police had to use a window breaker and then a Taser to subdue the accused.
Grolls Septus was convicted of possession of a prohibited weapon with ammunition, flight and assault with a weapon on a peace officer. He will receive his sentence at a later date.