A Montrealer who was arrested with a loaded revolver in underwear, then with drugs a few months later, should be sentenced to 45 months in prison even if the police had not done an exemplary job.
“The actions of police officers are not held to a standard of perfection. We must not forget that they perform demanding and dangerous work and that they often have to react quickly to urgent situations”, underlined the Court of Appeal in the file of Shawn Legoute.
The Montreal North resident was walking around with a Ruger .357 Magnum hidden under his underwear when he was arrested in connection with a fight in downtown Montreal in June 2019. Instead of complying, the young man from 24 years old ran away, but a policeman chased him.
It was during the arrest that the restricted weapon was discovered.
Not perfect
Criminally charged, Legoute however got away with it because of the work of the police. The trial judge ruled that the officers failed to respect all of his rights, and that whoever chased him was not specific enough about why he chased after him.
“During running [le policier] managed to say, “Stop” twice without telling him why. The agent admits he could have said ‘Stop it, I want to talk to you about the fight’. He didn’t,” the judge said.
New trial
The highest court in Quebec, however, reversed the decision, noting that if the work of the police had not been perfect, this did not justify throwing the file in the trash.
Back in court, Legoute finally pleaded guilty Friday at the Montreal courthouse. He also admitted breaches of conditions, and having had in his possession 14 grams of methamphetamine a few months later. In this case, he had been arrested with other individuals in an apartment where there was a firearm.
At the joint suggestion of lawyers for both parties, he should receive 45 months in detention at the next hearing scheduled for the coming month.
Reference-www.journaldemontreal.com