One of the drivers in a drive-by shooting in Rivière-des-Prairies that left three men dead three years ago told a jury on Monday he decided to become a witness for the prosecution, and pleaded guilty to three counts of manslaughter, so he could give his young son a precise estimate on when he will eventually be released from a federal penitentiary.
Marlon Villa-Guzman, 28, began testifying at the murder trial of three men at the Montreal courthouse on Sept. 25. He has since told the jury he didn’t know what was going to happen as he drove his friend Clifford Domercant-Barosy, 29, along Perras Blvd., passing an apartment building at least three times on Aug. 2, 2021.
Villa-Guzman was driving his Grand Prix, and he told the jury that Jonas Castor, 26, Stevenson Choute, 23, and a minor were in a Mazda 3 driven by Castor when three gunmen opened fire from both vehicles. Twenty-six shots were fired at men standing inside and outside a ground-floor apartment. They were there to celebrate a birthday.
The men killed in the shooting were Jerry Willer Jean-Baptiste, 29, Jafferson (Soldier) Syla, 29, and Molière Dantes, 63. Two other men were injured.
The men on trial — Castor, Choute and Domercant-Barosy — are charged with three counts of first-degree murder and two of attempted murder. Villa-Guzman faced the same charges, but in May he pleaded guilty to three counts of manslaughter and two of assault causing bodily harm. He is serving a 10-year sentence for his role in what happened.
A conviction for first-degree murder comes with an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole until the offender has served 25 years behind bars. Villa-Guzman will be eligible for full parole after he serves a third of his sentence.
“My son is growing up. I wanted to give him a precise date on when I would be home,” Villa-Guzman said Monday when asked by defence lawyer Patrick Davis about his motivation to become a witness for the prosecution.
He was referring to the child his spouse was pregnant with when the triple homicide was carried out. During his previous testimony, he said the fact his wife was pregnant was foremost on his mind after the men were killed.
Later on, while being cross-examined by Choute’s lawyer, Christian Gauthier, he confirmed he had difficulty with the possibility that another man might end up raising his son.
“You said (in the past) you thought that another man might end up being called papa, isn’t that right” Gauthier asked. “You absolutely wanted to avoid this, right?”
“Yes,” Villa-Guzman replied.
He also confirmed that his son was only four weeks old when he was arrested as a suspect in the murders at the family’s home.
“We can agree that the police didn’t ring the bell and ask for permission to come inside, did they,” Gauthier asked.
“No.”
“They smashed in the door with a (battering ram). While you were sleeping, right?”
“Yes.”
“While you were sleeping and while your son was sleeping?”
“Yes.”
“Was your son terrified?”
“Yes.”
“So we can say that, in a certain way, the events already caused harm to your son from there.”
“Yes.”
Villa-Guzman also said he panicked and was under a great deal of stress following his arrest.
“I cried for several days,” he said. “I thought only of my family.”