“I heard firecrackers, but they weren’t firecrackers”: Jean-Pierre* was chatting with his friends near the barbecue when shots rang out, disrupting the birthday party organized in his Rivière-des-Prairies apartment on August 2, 2021. He saw his friend fall to the ground, before collapsing himself, both legs pierced by the projectiles.
The trial of Clifford Domerçant-Barosy, Stevenson Choute and Jonas Castor continued Thursday in Montreal. They are accused of killing Jerry Willer Jean Baptiste (alias Mackazoe), Jefferson Syla (alias Soldier) and Molière Dantes three years ago.
It’s almost 7 p.m. It’s a party at 9301 Perras Boulevard, where a small group of friends are celebrating the 25th birthday of a neighbourhood resident. Several people are gathered at 9301 Perras Boulevard in Rivière-des-Prairies, in northeastern Montreal. A group is chatting in the courtyard of the apartment building, near a patio door leading to the basement. Others are seated at tables inside.
Jean-Pierre, 45, is chatting with the guests. He is interrupted by several explosions. “I heard firecrackers, but they weren’t firecrackers at all,” he told the jury on Thursday afternoon.
“He fell first, like a sack of potatoes. While I was on the ground, it was still going on,” the victim recalled.
A projectile goes through his leg. A bullet lodges in the other leg, according to his version of the fateful evening. “My legs gave out. I was in pain.” He collapses on the inert body of Jerry Willer Jean-Baptiste, alias Mackazoe.
He will suffer from the after-effects of these serious injuries: two toes amputated, difficulty walking, loss of employment due to the injuries. He spent six months in a wheelchair and had to relearn how to walk for two years.
Injured while waiting for his friend
Kevin* was also shot that day. The young man was smoking a cigarette, sitting on the stairs near the entrance of the building just before the shots. He was waiting for Jefferson Syla, alias Soldier. He was supposed to accompany him to Laval, he told the jury.
He used to visit 9301 Perras Boulevard. “Sometimes I just drop by to say hello to the people who are there. Sometimes Alex was there, he lived in Rivière.”
He doesn’t have time to finish his cigarette: the shots ring out.
Shocked, he rushed into the apartment, where Jean-Pierre and Molière Dantès were living at the time. “I threw myself into the basement to hide. I found my friend on the ground,” he recounted.
Jefferson Syla is lying on the ground, motionless. Molière Dantes, seriously injured, is on the sofa. Kevin realizes that he himself has been shot in the foot. He will be hospitalized for six days.
The “Profit Boys” and the “43”
“Do you know the Profit Boys, the Zone 43, the 43, have you ever heard of that?” asked Mr.e Louis Bouthillier to the witness. The latter remained unmoved. “No,” Kevin simply said.
“Lil’ Skurr, does that ring a bell?” the Crown prosecutor continued. “Neither do you.”
Witnesses questioned on the subject claimed to be unfamiliar with these terms. Some were even reluctant to talk about the victims’ nicknames. “Mackazoe is a hip-hop singer,” one of the witnesses would only say.
One of them claimed not to know Mackazoe and a man named Creedo. He was brief when the prosecutor questioned him about the nicknames of some of the victims and his connection to them.
The Crown also failed to explain the meaning of the terms “Profit Boys”, “Zone 43”, “43” and “Lil’Skurr”.
Me Claude Berlinguette-Auger and Me Louis Bouthillier represents the public prosecutor.
Me Christian Gauthier and Me Melina Le Blanc defends Stevenson Choute, Me Marc Labelle defends Clifford Domerçant-Barosy and Me Andrée-Anne Blais, Me Reginald Victorin and Me Patrick Davis defends Jonas Castor.
*Fictitious name