One of the two men driving cars used in a drive-by shooting that killed three men in 2021 began testifying against his alleged accomplices in a murder trial on Wednesday.
Marlon Villa-Guzman, 28, told the jury at the Montreal courthouse that he is currently serving a 10-year sentence after he pleaded guilty to reduced charges of manslaughter and aggravated assault. Initially, he was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and two of attempted murder. He is now a witness for the prosecution.
Superior Court Justice Alexandre Boucher noted to the jury that changes were made inside the courtroom to facilitate Villa-Guzman’s testimony. For example, temporary panels were put in place to prevent some people from seeing what he looks like.
The drive-by shooting took place on Aug. 2, 2021. Some of the victims were outside an apartment building on Perras Blvd., near 53rd Ave. in the Rivière-des-Prairies—Pointe-aux-Trembles borough, and others were inside seated inside near the patio window of the ground-floor apartment.
The two vehicles passed by just before 7 p.m. and 26 shots were fired. 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.
Jonas Castor, 26, Stevenson Choute, 23, and Clifford Domercant-Barosy, 29 are charged with three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of discharging a firearm.
At one point in his testimony Wednesday, Villa-Guzman said he believed the motive behind the shooting involved “a conflict between two street gangs.”
The comment caused one of the defence lawyers to object and prompted Boucher to excuse the jury while the matter was debated in their absence.
When the jury returned the judge said any evidence involving street gangs was inadmissible in the murder trial.
“Stories about street gangs will have nothing to do with what you decide,” the judge said, while adding any such references would be “a danger and a distraction.”
“I should add that the witness is not to blame.”
Earlier in the day, while answering questions from prosecutor Louis Bouthillier, Villa-Guzman said he was working as a courier before “the event” and that he grew up in Montreal North, where he lived most of his life. He also said his current home is a penitentiary.
After going over a short list of the vehicles he owned in 2021, Villa-Guzman told the jury he got rid of his Pontiac Grand Prix the day after the victims were killed. He purchased the Grand Prix in December 2020.
“I kept it until the day after the event, the shooting,” he said. “I got rid of it.”
“Why did you get rid of it,” the prosecutor asked.
“On Aug. 2, the vehicle was implicated in this shooting. I was the driver at that moment. I drove the Grand Prix,” Villa Guzman replied.
He added that he woke up the day after the shooting and went to work as usual. He told the jury he was making his usual route when Domercant-Barosy called him and told him to get rid of the Grand Prix. At the start of the trial, the jury was informed that Domercant-Barosy is alleged to be one of three people who opened fire on the victims.
Villa-Guzman said he removed the licence plate off his vehicle and sold the vehicle to a scrap metal dealer for $500. He said he needed the cash because he was expecting a baby soon.
When Bouthillier asked Villa-Guzman if Domercant-Barosy ever told him the motive behind the shooting, the witness told the jury that Domercant-Barosy said he had a problem with someone in Rivière-des-Prairies.
It was then that Villa-Guzman also said he heard “from other sources” that the motive involved a conflict between two street gangs.
Villa-Guzman described how, before the men were killed, he drove Domercant-Barosy in his Grand Prix while Castor drove a Mazda with two other people inside. The jury has been told that one of the other people inside the Mazda was a minor who was charged in youth court.
The witness said he drove the Grand Prix twice past the apartment building where the victims were gathered before Domercant-Barosy got out of his car and climbed into the Mazda. After about 10 minutes, Domercant-Barosy returned to the Grand Prix and both vehicles headed back to the apartment building driving slowly.
“I saw two hands come out of the Mazda,” Villa-Guzman said adding that was the moment when the shots were fired. He also said Domercant-Barosy opened fire from the passenger seat in the Grand Prix.
“I can’t say how many shots (were fired). It was too many detonations,” Villa-Guzman said. “I panicked and I accelerated.”