A madman who attacked a homeless man sleeping on a park bench with a shard of a bottle has been found guilty of attempted murder. At his first trial, Alexis Barnabé-Paradis had savagely attacked the two correctional officers who watched him in the dock.
Posted at 1:27 p.m.
The jury deliberated for three days to deliver their verdict last Friday at the Montreal courthouse. The 42-year-old man’s trial was originally scheduled to take place in October 2021, but an extremely violent coup derailed it from the start.
A court order prevented us until recently from reporting the details of this case. Alexis Barnabé-Paradis faced numerous charges, including assault with a weapon against a peace officer.
At the very start of his first trial, in October 2021, Alexis Barnabé-Paradis had exploded in the defendant’s box, in the absence of the judge, before the morning break. Without warning, he punched the correctional officers, then ripped off the plexiglass installed for sanitary reasons. He then tried to escape.
“He tried to save himself, but the constables intervened,” the president of the Syndicat des agents de la paix en services correctionnels du Québec explained to us at the time.
A new trial for attempted murder then had to be organised, a year later.
This gratuitous crime occurred on June 17, 2018 at Peace Park in Montreal. Alexis Barnabé-Paradis then attacked for no reason Jimmy St-Armand, a man who was sleeping on a park bench. The assailant beat him in the face and chest with a shard of beer bottle.
The victim, injured and disoriented, had tried to flee the park, but Alexis Barnabé-Paradis had pursued her and continued to hit her on a vehicle. A good Samaritan, Jean-François Morin had intervened to help the victim, but the attacker had severely bitten his arm.
PHOTO SUBMITTED IN EVIDENCE
This photo shows what appears to be a bite mark on the sweater of a Good Samaritan, bitten by the accused.
The bite marks on Jean-François Morin’s sweater and the accused’s DNA on said sweater were decisive in the Crown’s evidence.
“The victim was in a pool of blood, with a very weak pulse. He had several major lacerations. He will wake up intubated, 72 hours later, after several surgeries, ”reported the Crown prosecutor, Ms.e Claudine Charest at the start of the trial.
The prosecutor had invited the jurors to keep “an open mind” during the trial. The trial was indeed a “foray” into the world of homelessness and drug addiction.
Sentencing submissions are scheduled for Friday before Judge Alexandre Boucher. Me Catherine Daniel Houle defends the accused.