FREDERIC SERRE

FREDERIC SERRE
The 1019 Report

An urgent 911 call last Sunday evening in Vaudreuil-Dorion triggered an emergency response, but by the time the first firefighters arrived on the scene on Valois Street, flames had already destroyed the garage of a residence.

According to Chief John Boudreau of the Vaudreuil-Dorion fire department, the call came in at 9 :30 p.m., as flames engulfed the garage attached to the small one-storey house. While the garage was destroyed and the house suffered smoke and water damage, no injuries to the two occupants were reported.

About 30 firefighters from four municipalities, including members of the Canadian Red Cross and the Sûreté du Québec, were on the scene.

Firefighters from Pincourt and Salaberry de Valleyfield also reported to the fire, while a team from the St. Lazare fire department were on standby at the Vaudreuil-Dorion station.

While the cause of the blaze has not been confirmed, police and firefighters said a motorcycle and a can of gasoline inside the garage caused the flames to spread quickly. Thankfully, a firewall prevented the fire from spreading to the rest of the building. Police said the fire was finally extinguished at about 1:30 a.m. Monday.

FREDERIC SERRE
The 1019 Report

A 16-year-old Ontario girl has been charged with killing a 16-year-old boy – eight months after his battered body was found in a field in St. Zotique.

The Sûreté du Québec made the announcement last Friday, adding the girl is also charged with killing an Ontario teenager, identified as a friend of the victim whose body was found in St. Zotique. The SQ said the accused was 15 at the time of the killings.

On April 17, a farmer made the grisly discovery of a severely beaten body in a field off 69^th Avenue in St. Zotique. SQ investigators could not identify the teen because of his injuries. Photos of his face and the tattoos were made public, leading to his identification. He was a resident of the town of Prévost in the Laurentians. The investigation also include surveillance camera footage of an SUV driving into the field, where the body was dumped, before the vehicle quickly drove away.

The victim’s family members told the SQ that they had reported the boy missing at the end of March, and he was last seen at the Côte Vertu metro station in Montreal three weeks before he was killed.

The lengthy investigation led to the arrest of a Mississauga girl, who last week was charged with first-degree murder at the Valleyfield youth court. She was also charged in Ontario youth court with complicity following the St. Zotique killing in various cities in Ontario, including Ajax. Prosecutors are considering having the girl tried in adult court, according to the SQ, due to the gravity of the crimes she is charged with.

The girl is currently being held in Mississauga, where she is facing an additional accusation in the killing of Zackhry Ramnath, identified as a friend of the St. Zotique victim. Ramnath’s body was found off a road about 50 kilometres north of Toronto last April 23.

York Regional Police arrested the girl last June and charged her with Ramnath’s murder. A 19-year-old man was also arrested.

The SQ said the girl will return to court in the coming weeks.

FREDERIC SERRE
The 1019 Report

Seven months after a man’s lifeless body washed ashore in St. Zotique, the Sûreté du Québec is turning to the public in the hope of identifying him.

Investigators from the SQ’s integrated disappearance and kidnapping coordination team issued a public notice last Monday, including a photo of the deceased man’s face. The victim’s body was found May 2 by a passer-by beneath a dock off 72^nd Avenue.

The deceased is a white male, about 30 years old. He was dressed in a blue T-shirt with a cannabis leaf. He wore blue jogging pants. He also had a gold ring on his right hand, a bracelet on his right wrist and a chain around his neck.

The man had a tattoo on his right arm with the word “Warrior,” as well as a dove and a lotus flower. The SQ is asking anyone with information to call 1-800-659-4264, and include event number 172-230502-007.

FREDERIC SERRE
The 1019 Report

While police and rescue workers expressed relief that no injuries were reported, a car-train collision in Île Perrot early Monday morning added to the traffic chaos in the region as commuters looking to avoid the congestion on Highway 40 due to the reduction in the number of open lanes on the Île aux Tourtes Bridge found themselves in delays along Highway 20.

The crash occurred shortly before 7 a.m. Monday, when a Canadian National train struck a car on the track and then came to a halt between the Terrasse-Vaudreuil and Île Perrot stations.While police and emergency crews tended to the collision site, the train remained stationery for more than an hour, creating a traffic backlog. The Sûreté du Québec cleared the site shortly before 9 a.m.

FREDERIC SERRE
The 1019 Report

With the office Christmas party season rolling into high gear, the Sûreté du Québec is stepping up patrols to catch drunk drivers. Police officers will be manning roadblocks on all major highways as part of a campaign that began last Thursday and will run until Jan. 2.

Officers will be on the lookout for drivers who are under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and will be administering roadside breathalyzer tests. The campaign also includes a social media awareness blitz by the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) to alert drivers of the consequences of drinking and driving.

According to the SAAQ, alcohol and drugs remain the leading causes of death in road collisions in Quebec. Between 2017 and 2021, on average, alcohol was involved in 25 per cent of fatal collisions and 15 per cent of accidents resulting in serious injury.

FREDERIC SERRE
The 1019 Report

The strong arm of the law has come down hard on four residents of the region, each pleading guilty to poaching charges in the wake of a four-year investigation that saw fines totalling $314,430 handed out to 75 individuals throughout the Montérégie territory that investigators say belonged to a well-organized network.

The Quebec Environment Ministry late last month released the details of its lengthy investigation. Dubbed Operation 57, more than 100 provincial wildlife investigators four years ago swooped in on various locations in the region on Nov. 27, 2019, making the arrests after acting on tips received from local residents regarding various offences related to poaching. The arrests resulted in the dismantling of a well-organized poaching network.

The investigation focused on various activities, including the sale, purchase, illegal possession and exceeding of limits of fish, wild garlic and game, as well as the illegal fishing of yellow perch, walleye, sturgeon and striped bass. Some individuals were also charged with using live fish bait, a practice that is prohibited in Quebec.

According to the ministry, the majority of individuals charged pleaded guilty. Locally, they include Roger Archambault of St. Zotique, who pleaded guilty to illegal fishing and was fined $2,500, as well as Richmond Monette of Coteau du Lac, also pleading guilty to illegal fishing, and fined $2,000.

Luce Laberge of St. Zotique was fined $1,825 for the illegal purchase of fish, and Robert Latreille of St. Zotique, was fined $1,825 for the same offence.

FREDERIC SERRE
The 1019 Report

A two-car crash on eastbound Highway 40 in Vaudreuil-Dorion early Monday morning turned into a search for a car thief that is still ongoing.

According to the Sûreté du Québec, the accident happened at about 5 a.m., when the car collided. When officers arrived on the scene, they discovered that one of the vehicles had been reported stolen, and its driver had fled the scene of the accident on foot.

The suspected car thief, a man, ran off, leaving the injured driver of the other vehicle at the scene.

While paramedics treated the injured driver at the scene, SQ officers searched for the suspect.

As of yesterday morning, the suspected car thief had not been located.

FREDERIC SERRE
The 1019 Report

The Sûreté du Québec is investigating an incident last Thursday involving a man loitering around an elementary school in Île Perrot.

According to the SQ, a man reportedly entered École primaire François-Perrot on Grand Blvd. and was seen inside one of the bathrooms.

After witnesses spotted the suspect, school authorities were alerted and called 911. SQ officers responded to the scene, but the suspect had already fled. School officials emailed parents the same day to inform them of the incident, adding that no child was hurt and that the SQ was investigating.

“We are currently conducting some verifications to figure out why this individual was found inside the school,” said SQ spokesperson Valérie Beauchamp.

In its message to parents, the school said an SQ patrol vehicle would be parked in front of the school, adding that new security measures have been put in place, including making sure all doors of the building are locked during recess and lunch hours.

FREDERIC SERRE
The 1019 Report

Sûreté du Québec officers were kept busy earlier this week with a high-speed chase involving a stolen vehicle on Highway 40 in Vaudreuil-Dorion ended with a crash.

According to the SQ’s Vaudreuil-Soulanges East detachment, the vehicle being chased had been reported stolen. A 19-year-old was taken into custody. He faces charges of car theft and fleeing police. Additional charges, including reckless driving, obstruction and possession of a stolen vehicle, could be laid, said SQ spokesperson Valérie Beauchamp.

The drama unfolded Monday at about 4:45 a.m. when officers attempted to stop a speeding vehicle on westbound Highway 40 in Vaudreuil-Dorion. Instead of stopping, the driver continued speeding before losing control of the vehicle and striking another car. No injuries were reported.

A brief foot chase followed, but the fleeing suspect was quickly nabbed by SQ officers. Beauchamp said the young man was arrested and released, and will appear in court at a later date. The SQ did not say where the suspect resides.

FREDERIC SERRE
The 1019 Report

A 44-year-old Vaudreuil-Dorion man who had a 2019 murder conviction overturned on appeal pleaded guilty last week before a new trial could even begin.

Richard Hunt entered the plea at the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield courthouse on Oct. 2, admitting he killed two bikers in a wooded area of Vaudreuil-Dorion in 2016.

In 2019, Hunt was convicted of the premeditated murders of Joseph Fluet and Steven Lamarsh, two Rock Machine bikers.

According to testimony presented at Hunt’s first trial, Fluet and Lamarsh were ambushed by Hunt and his girlfriend, Mélanie Binette, in a field in Vaudreuil-Dorion on Dec. 1, 2016. Hunt, who owed the two men money, had led them to believe that he would be able to pay them back, thanks to an $850,000 fortune buried in the wooded area following the theft of an armored truck.

Fluet and Lamarsh arrived at the scene armed only with shovels. But rather than participating in a treasure hunt, the two victims were shot by Hunt with a .223-caliber rifle. Hunt had been hiding waiting for them. He also shot the girlfriend of one of the victims. Rachel Wickenheiser survived and testified at Hunt’s first trial.

At the conclusion of his trial in 2019, Hunt was sentenced to life imprisonment. Now, under the terms of his plea, Hunt, who has been detained since his arrest in December 2016, will be eligible to apply for release in 2029.

While he will be eligible for parole, it will not be automatic, said Superior Court Judge André Vincent, who reminded Hunt that if he is released, he will be under the supervision of the Parole Board for the rest of his life.

Hunt’s accomplice, Binette, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in October 2020 and sentenced to 11 years in prison.