Violent robbery at the home of a former investigator | “Organized crime would never have done that”

On the morning of June 12, 2020, around 10 a.m., Pietro Poletti, retired lieutenant-detective of the SPVM, specialist in organized crime, was watching television in a dressing gown when the doorbell rang at his home, where he lives. with his mother, in the borough of LaSalle.

Daniel Renaud
The Press

“I opened the first door. They immediately opened the weatherstripping door and entered the house. One of them said: It’s him! They started beating me with bricks and sticks. I put myself on the ground and I protected my head with my hands, ”said the former investigator on Tuesday, at the trial of Yadley Deutz-St-Jean and Mitchaino Bruno.

The two men are suspected of having been part of a quartet which took part in the violent robbery at the home of Pietro Poletti two years ago.

They are charged with breaking and entering, assault with a weapon, assault with bodily harm, death threats, forcible confinement and mischief. Deutz-St-Jean is also facing one count of possession of a firearm.

The other two defendants have already pleaded guilty and have been sentenced.

“Shoot him”!

Pietro Poletti affirms that the aggression lasted between one and two minutes, and that he received at least twenty blows, including three or four with bricks to the head.

During the attack, which took place in the entrance of the residence, the mother of the former police officer, then 87 years old, came up from the basement, alerted by the cries of her son.

One of the suspects grabbed her by the arm and ripped off a chain she was wearing around her neck. M^me Poletti fled through the garage and out into the street, asking for help.

When he saw his mother being molested, Pietro Poletti started to defend himself. This is when the suspects let go, not without one saying: shoot him ! [tire-lui dessus], according to the retired investigator. The three men ran away, leaving behind a brick and a broken snow brush. They boarded a black car parked on rue Laplante, in which an accomplice was waiting for them.

Le véhicule a démarré, mais un voisin de M. Poletti, qui a vu les trois suspects courir, a suivi la voiture, a pris en note le numéro de plaque et l’a ensuite donné aux policiers.

M. Poletti a souffert d’une coupure à l’arcade sourcilière causée par un coup de brique. Il a également eu plusieurs ecchymoses et la colonne vertébrale fissurée. « J’ai eu mal pendant au moins un mois, un mois et demi », a-t-il dit.

Sa mère, aujourd’hui âgée de 89 ans, a eu des ecchymoses elle aussi. « On a beau avoir mis des caméras, elle a encore peur. Elle n’est plus la même », a décrit M. Poletti.

Policier un jour…

Au début des années 2000, des inconnus avaient déjà déposé une couronne mortuaire devant la résidence de Pietro Poletti. Cette affaire, qui avait soulevé des vagues à l’époque, a été évoquée durant son témoignage.

« En raison de mon travail, j’ai déjà été menacé, mais jamais ils ne sont venus chez moi. J’ai longtemps travaillé sur la mafia et les motards. Jamais le crime organisé n’aurait envoyé des gens à la maison. Ça, c’est de la canaille », a lancé M. Poletti.

Depuis le début du procès, il n’a pas été question du mobile de cette attaque chez un ex-enquêteur chevronné du SPVM.

Mais à ce sujet, durant l’enquête préliminaire, M. Poletti avait également témoigné et mentionné spontanément que le mobile pourrait être sa participation à un reportage de TVA sur la mafia pour lequel il s’était rendu en Italie, une collaboration que le milieu n’aurait pas appréciée.

« Mais c’est de la spéculation », a dit M. Poletti, ajoutant que « chez les motards et la mafia, peut-être que ça a changé aujourd’hui, mais il y a toujours eu un code d’éthique et du fair-play. Il faut comprendre leur mentalité. Once a cop, always a cop [policier un jour, policier toujours] in their head. It is true that I did my job with passion and vocation. You don’t turn off the lights and suddenly you’re not on the force anymore. It was a clear hit on me [on me visait clairement] “, had declared Pietro Poletti to the preliminary investigation.

Incorrectly attached license plate

On Monday, Athanasios Venardos, a patroller with the Longueuil Agglomeration Police Service (SPAL), said that around 5:50 p.m. in the afternoon of June 12, 2020, he and his colleague were driving on Route 116, in the direction of west, when they were passed on the left by a black car with its license plate hanging off one side.

“I asked my partner to check the plate and he immediately told me he thought it was the vehicle we had received a narrative message for during the day, for an invasion of home occurred in Montreal. The message said there could be four people on board and a firearm,” Constable Venardos testified.

When they received confirmation that it was the vehicle they were looking for, they called for reinforcements and the SPAL police officers intercepted the car on the service road of boulevard Taschereau, near boulevard Lafayette.

The four suspects surrendered without resistance.

From the vehicle, the patrol officers seized about 20 items, including a firearm loaded with four bullets, but not chambered, a knife with a 30-centimetre blade, a telescopic baton, gloves and a surgical mask on which there were stains resembling blood.

The trial, which is presided over by Judge Alexandre Dalmeau of the Court of Quebec, continues throughout the week.

The lawsuit is represented by Mr.^e Philippe Vallières-Roland and the defense by M^e Alexie Galarneau and M.^e Noemie Tellier.

To reach Daniel Renaud, dial 514, 285-7000, extension 4918, write to [email protected] or write to the postal address of The Press.