Man who fired toward group of people in Montreal North gets 8-year prison term

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A man with alleged ties to a Montreal street gang was sentenced Friday to an eight-year prison term for wounding a person when he discharged a firearm toward a group of people standing outside a convenience store in Montreal North.

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“The act was clearly premeditated, several shots were fired and there were clearly other people nearby,” Quebec Court Judge Marie-Josée Di Lallo said before she sentenced Michaino Bruno, 26, at the Montreal courthouse. “Discharging a firearm in a city is extremely dangerous. To do it in the middle of the day while citizens are walking along sidewalks and cars are circulating nearby shows serious recklessness.”

In December, Di Lallo found Bruno guilty of the reckless discharging of a firearm and assault causing bodily harm.

Just after 6:30 pm on Sept. 18, 2020, Bruno fired several shots toward a group of people standing outside a convenience store on Charleroi St. One of the people in the group was struck in the thigh and transported to a hospital.

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Security cameras showed there were a lot of people in the group as well as several pedestrians nearby when Bruno opened fire. Young girls were a few feet from Bruno when he shot the victim. Di Lallo noted that the girls ran and other passersby hid inside the convenience store.

Prosecutor Éric Poudrier recommended a nine-year prison term for Michaino and said the sentence should denounce the increase in gun violence witnessed in parts of the city like Montreal North. During sentencing arguments, the prosecutor noted that there were 116 incidents involving firearms in Montreal during 2020 and the number increased to 152 last year.

Defense lawyer Noémi Tellier asked for a seven-year prison term.

Caroline Raza, an expert on street gangs who testified during the trial, said Bruno was identified as a member of a street gang affiliated with the Profit Kollectaz, whose members have been tied to several violent events in recent years. Raza told the court that the Profit Kollectaz are involved in drug trafficking, pimping and fraud.

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Raza said Bruno was seen in photos with members of the Profit Kollectaz, in a video clip posted on social media. The video was posted last July by Andrew Luberisse, 33, an alleged member of the gang. Luberisse was charged with firearms-related offenses a month after the video was posted.

Raza also told the court that the Profit Kollectaz have been involved in a conflict with another Montreal-based gang called Zone 43 since 2011. The conflict is believed to be the source of several shootings that have plagued eastern Montreal in recent years. The conflict extended to Toronto in 2020 when shots were exchanged between two groups of men. Bruno was present with members of the Profit Kollectaz when the shooting occurred but was not charged.

Di Lallo said the evidence didn’t convince her beyond a reasonable doubt that Bruno is a member of the Profit Kollectaz, but she said it is likely.

Bruno was charged last year with the assault on retired Montreal police detective Pietro Poletti, an expert on the Montreal Mafia. Poletti and his mother were assaulted inside his home on June 12, 2020. Bruno’s assault case is still pending.

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