Martin C. Barry, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
One of three suspects arrested following a household invasion in early February in Saint-François was arraigned at the Laval courthouse on March 6.
Samuel Pouliot, age 27, remains detained by the Laval Police. He and the two other suspects were arrested on February 11, a little more than a week after the alleged incident.
Pouliot faces charges of break and enter, armed assault, assault causing injuries, extortion and forcible confinement.
On the evening of February 3, the Laval Police responded to a call for intervention at a home on des Mille-Îles Blvd. in Saint-François where a home invasion was reported to be in progress.
Criminal responsibility in Sainte-Rose bus crash to be decided
A Quebec Superior Court judge will be deciding in early April whether former Société de transport de Laval driver Pierre Ny-St-Amand was mentally fit when he drove an STL bus into the entrance of a Sainte-Rose children’s daycare in early February 2023, killing two children and injuring six others.
A crown prosecutor and a defence lawyer say they will be presenting a joint statement of facts at the next hearing.
According to statements made by the crown during preliminary hearings, two psychiatrists who examined Ny-St-Amand have concluded he should not be held criminally responsible because he has a mental disorder.
In addition to a recounting of the facts, the hearing on April 7 is also expected to include testimony from both psychiatrists.
Man dies after being crushed by truck at Laval recycling plant
A 58-year-old man was declared dead at a recycling facility in Laval’s Saint-François district recently after he was crushed by a truck.
The Laval Police responded to the scene at AIM Recycling around 6 am Sunday morning.
As the police could find no evidence of any criminal act, they immediately transferred the case to the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST), Quebec’s worker health and safety agency.
Two CNESST investigators, assisted by officers with the Laval Police, were reported to have visited the site and were there to interview witnesses over the following days.
Recent LFD fire calls
A mechanical or electrical failure is being blamed for a fire that broke out in a home on Riviera St. in Laval-Ouest last month, forcing four occupants to seek shelter elsewhere for the the being.
Just after 8 pm on February 21, a call was received at 9-1-1 that the dwelling near the corner of 24th and 30th streets on the edge of the Mille-Îles River was ablaze.
In spite of the firefighters’ efforts to contain the blaze, damage was estimated at $200,000 by the time it was put out, with an additional $100,000 in damages to interior furnishings and property.
An overheated electronic battery pack was identified by investigators with the Laval Fire Dept. as the probable source of a fire that damaged a house and three cars, including at least one which was a collector’s item, on Mille-Îles Blvd. at the east end of Saint-François on February 24.
LFD firefighters arriving on the scene around 9:50 am immediately spotted flames shooting out of the garage where the three vehicles were parked.
The crew was able to keep the flames from spreading from the garage to the house and they had things under control within less than an hour.
Structural damage to the house were estimated at $70,000, with an additional $100,000 for damaged interior furnishings and property losses.