Hit man pleads no contest to killing of Concordia University student

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Frédérick Silva, already convicted of carrying out three murders in cold blood, put an end to a separate case Friday in which he was charged with killing a Concordia University student during a heated argument.

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As he did in the first case, in which he was charged with murder in the deaths of three men — and attempted murder in the shooting of Montreal Mafia leader Salvatore Scoppa — Silva conceded the Crown had met the burden of proof to convict him of second -degree murder in the killing of Daniel Armando Somoza-Gildea.

Somoza-Gildea was killed on May 24, 2017, after an argument began inside Cabaret Les Amazones in NDG The argument spilled outside, and the victim was shot in the parking lot of the St-Jacques St. strip club.

A warrant was issued for Silva’s arrest, but he managed to live in hiding for years. During that time, he killed three other men.

It appeared two of the victims were killed because of their ties to organized crime or drug trafficking. But the third, Alessandro Vinci, was apparently killed for personal reasons.

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Vinci worked at a car dealership in Laval owned by his family. During the investigation of his death, it emerged that he had given a statement to the police in a fraud case involving vehicles, and in which Silva and his girlfriend were being investigated.

Defense lawyer Danièle Roy told the Montreal Gazette that Silva decided to enter the no-contest plea in the Somoza-Gildea case on Friday because it allows him to continue to appeal a judge’s rulings related to the first case.

Last year, Superior Court Justice Mark David turned down Roy’s request to have a stay of proceedings placed on the murder charges, as well as a request to have some evidence from the police investigation excluded from trial.

“It is a procedure through which he admits that, considering judgments that were made and the evidence that was admissible, the Crown had met its burden of proof,” Roy said. “It is not an admission of guilt, and that allows us to appeal.”

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David is to decide this month whether Silva can be declared guilty of second-degree murder in Somoza-Gildea’s death.

The reasons behind the appeal were under a publication ban that was lifted on Friday.

Roy said she wanted evidence excluded after it emerged that a Montreal police officer had manufactured a warrant, using the official stamp of a justice of the peace, during Silva’s investigation.

Roy said the justice of the peace rejected the police officer’s request for a warrant, and left the room they were in. The officer then took the stamp and used it to make a false warrant look real, including a forged signature.

The officer informed his superiors about what he had done, Roy said. They allowed him to proceed with the warrant because they felt he was protected by section 25.1 of the Criminal Code, which provides “a justification for public officers and other persons acting at their direction to commit acts or omissions that would otherwise constitute offenses.”

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“We were particularly scandalized by that because we are taking about a theft (of the stamp), fabricating false documents and, besides that, it was authorized by his superiors,” Roy said.

“There were police manoeuvres that are unacceptable in a society of law. It is highly reprehensible.”

According to a joint statement of facts presented to David on Friday, Silva and some of his associates, including a man named Sébastien Giroux, were inside the strip club at 2:40 am The trouble began when another of Silva’s associates, Billy Glenold-Fleury , accosted Somoza-Gildea’s girlfriend.

People who were among both groups at the club argued and fought with each other until a bouncer separated them. Somoza-Gildea and a friend were ordered out of the bar, and Silva followed them outside.

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Evidence revealed that the shots that killed Somoza-Gildea were fired 10 seconds after Silva exited the strip bar.

Silva quickly became a suspect in the killing and, seven days later, police located him while following his girlfriend.

On June 1, 2017, a SWAT team was waiting to intercept Silva as he arrived to meet the woman in a sports utility vehicle.

Silva spotted one of the police vehicles and sped away by driving over a sidewalk and lawn. His vehicle was later found abandoned on Highway 440.

On March 15, Giroux pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to murder by helping Silva hide while he was sought by police.

Giroux will be sentenced next week.

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