A young Montrealer who is racking up charges for antics that culminated in his arrest with a weapon swears prison opened his eyes and begs to be released, while the Crown warns of these young people who are as immature as they are dangerous .
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“Unfortunately, what we see are immature people, easily influenced, who have loaded weapons. The danger is there, at some point it has to stop, ”launched Me Hussein Hassan by asking for the continued detention of Abderrezak Boukharouba, this Tuesday at the Montreal courthouse.
Just before, the 20-year-old defendant testified about his last two weeks in prison, abandoned by all his friends with whom he would have multiplied the bad tricks, including the fact of having fired a paintball at a vehicle of the Sûreté du Quebec responding to an emergency call on the highway.
“I didn’t expect prison to be like this,” he said in tears. I was just thinking, what I was doing there, if it was worth it. In the end, I found myself alone between four walls.
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Stupor
Boukharouba, who is awaiting several trials for crimes whose gravity is only increasing, nevertheless comes from an honest and hardworking family.
His father, who was a doctor in Algeria, had to decide to become a taxi driver to support his family. He then became a “guardian angel” during the pandemic and works as a beneficiary attendant hoping to become a nurse.
Her mother runs a family daycare, while her sister is studying for a doctorate in pharmacy.
Present in the courtroom, it was with amazement that they learned of all the escapades of the young man who stopped school before obtaining his secondary 5, for lack of motivation.
More and more serious
Boukharouba’s troubles began in 2021, when he allegedly helped a friend who allegedly participated in the beating of a soccer player during an argument during an improvised game. The accused does not appear to have taken part in the battle, but would have helped his friend to flee.
He found himself involved in a vehicle theft case in Longueuil.
Then, this summer, he was arrested in connection with a paintball fired at the driver’s side window of a patrol car.
“The police abandoned their initial call to search the area,” said Mr.e Hassan.
Boukharouba had been arrested a little later, with several friends, in a vehicle containing paint guns.
His most recent arrest was last month when he was seen by officers from the ARRET squad breaking a court-imposed curfew. During his arrest, the police found a satchel containing a loaded semi-automatic pistol.
“The three other individuals who were in the vehicle said the firearm was not theirs,” Crown said.
Support
Accused in connection with all these events in addition to several breaches of conditions, Boukharouba however implored the judge to give him a chance, now that he has lived the experience of prison.
Sheepishly, he said he was ready to respect all the conditions proposed by his lawyer Mr.e Olivier Cusson, even if this means that he must stay at home at all times, without a cell phone, while cutting ties with his friends.
“My freedom is worth more than a cell phone and friends,” he said. Because in the end, we are alone in prison while our friends are outside.
His family have also testified, saying they are ready to watch him closely and call the police if he breaks his terms. Because even if they were shocked to learn of Boukharouba’s escapades, they want at all costs to help him get back on the right track.
But even if the exit plan is ‘fantastic’ and even if the accused’s family is ready to help, it’s time to send a strong message that gun violence cannot be tolerated, a pleaded the Crown, recalling that it was up to the accused to take responsibility.
Judge Thierry Nadon took the case under advisement and will render his decision on Friday.