It is with emotion, sadness, but also anger that relatives of Daniel Armando Somoza-Gildea, killed by Frédérick Silva in front of a bar in downtown Montreal in May 2017, testified Friday, during the observations on the sentence of the former organized crime hitman turned collaborating witness for the police.
Posted at 2:32 p.m.
Updated at 3:04 p.m.
Silva, 42, shot Somoza-Gildea, a 28-year-old Concordia University student, with four gunshot wounds outside the bar after an argument broke out between the group of friends of the victim and that of the ex-hitman.
COURTESY OF THE GAZETTE
The victim, Daniel Armando Somoza-Gildea.
“No logical explanation can be found for such a gratuitous and cowardly act,” said the victim’s uncle, adding that his nephew was a young man “full of projects that will remain unfinished” and had “all the life before him.
At the end of his speech, the witness made harsh remarks about Silva, remarks deplored by the prosecutor, Mr.e Antoine Piché, however, saying that he understands the feelings that inhabit the members of the family.
“A large part of us has left and will never return,” added Daniel Somoza-Gildea’s mother, in a videoconference statement made from the United States and broadcast on the screens of the courtroom.
“He died on his own, I couldn’t be near him. He (Silva) took the life of someone who meant nothing to him, but to many others that life meant the world,” the victim’s mother continued, wondering if she could ever forgive the killer. .
“We will all have to answer to God one day for what we have done in our lives. And I don’t hate Frederick Silva. I hate that he took Daniel’s life. I hate what was done to my family. I hate that we will always feel this pain and the loss of Daniel for the rest of our lives,” she said.
Also on screen, in front of a white wall, from a secret location, Frédérick Silva listened carefully to the testimonies.
Already sentenced to life imprisonment
Silva is already serving a life sentence, without the possibility of parole for 25 years, for the murders of three men committed in the fall of 2018, and for an attempted murder of the late mafioso Salvatore Scoppa in February 2017.
Silva was due to stand trial by jury for the murder of Somoza-Gildea last spring, but as he has done in his previous filings, he acknowledged the prosecution’s evidence was probative and ended the proceedings himself. .
He did not plead guilty, but was found guilty Friday morning by Superior Court Judge Marc David of murder at 2e degree of Daniel Armando Somoza-Gildea.
The nuance is important, because by not pleading not guilty, Silva retains his appeal rights. The former killer, who revoked the mandate of his former lawyers, represented himself alone on Friday morning. He is actively seeking a lawyer to represent him in upcoming proceedings.
“I contacted several lawyers. Many refused the mandate. I am waiting for answers for others,” Frédrick Silva told Judge David.
His sentence for the murder of Somoza-Gildea could be pronounced in the week of December 12, but we know that Silva, already sentenced to life imprisonment, will not be able to benefit in this case from conditional release for ten years.
After explaining the next steps to the victim’s family members, Judge David said that in his 17 years in office, he “has never been faced with such a situation in which things are complicated and must be done correctly”.
At the end of June, the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) and the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) announced that a senior figure in organized crime had started working with the police. Sources then told La Presse that it was Frédérick Silva.
The latter returned his jacket after two of his relatives were killed last spring.
Investigators from major crimes and the SPVM’s Organized Crime Division, and their colleagues from Crimes Against Persons from the SQ have begun an important investigation which will last several months and which could lead to the elucidation of several murders and other crimes committed in the organized crime scene in recent years.
In addition, an alleged Silva accomplice, Giovanni Presta Jr., has been on trial since Thursday for the first degree murder of former Rockers member Sébastien Beauchamp murdered in December 2018.
To reach Daniel Renaud, dial 514 285-7000, ext. 4918, write to [email protected] or write to the postal address of The Press.