Motorcyclist shot in the street: accused not criminally responsible

If Simon Lachance shot a motorcyclist who “had just cut him off”, it was because hallucinations caused by his psychotic symptoms dictated that he do so in order to make him “a superman who would have worked for a good cause” .

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This is the conclusion to which the D^r Sylvain Faucher came to this by evaluating the young man who was 21 years old at the time of the events.

On July 19, 2022, voices told Lachance that the motorcycle riding in front of him on Sainte-Anne Boulevard was “a new target.” In the previous days he had had the same type of call, never taking action. In his report, the psychiatrist explains that Lachance would have this time “validated with the police by telepathy” that he had to kill the target.

Stopped at a traffic light, he took out his sawed-off .12 caliber rifle and shot the victim.

During his arrest in the minutes that followed, the accused was not afraid, believing that he would be “covered” for his actions. When he arrives at Orsainville prison, he will rather believe he has arrived in a building where he joins “the other candidates”.

High-risk defendant motion

For all these reasons, the psychiatrist recommended that the accused be not criminally responsible for his actions. Those close to him had noticed that his condition was deteriorating in recent years, symptoms which coincided with the increase in his consumption of cannabis derivatives.

The doctor concluded that the man understood the nature of the gestures, but was not able to determine whether they were good or bad.

Superior Court judge Carl Thibault agreed with his arguments, especially since the expert mandated by the Crown came to similar conclusions.

Simon Lachance will remain detained at the University Mental Health Institute of Quebec for the moment, but the crown will file a request to have him declared a “high-risk offender”.

“Struggling with a problem of schizophrenia”, “capable of great sophistication”, “aggressive and violent”, the arguments in support of this request are numerous, according to the public prosecutor.

“There is a marked probability that the respondent will use violence in a way that could endanger the life or safety of another person,” argues Mr.^e Fabien Villemaire.

The procedure is the same as that initiated in the case of Kim Lebel, not criminally responsible for the murder of his neighbor.

Serious injuries

If Simon Lachance’s beliefs were far from reality, the harm he caused the victim is very real.

Hit in the lower back, the man spent four weeks in hospital, where “more than a hundred pellets” were removed from him.

According to the crown prosecutor, if the man escaped, it was thanks to his seated position on his motorcycle, as well as his bag with reinforcements on his back.

Lachance’s case was postponed until February 2 so that the date of the hearing on the motion for high-risk accused could be set.