Recent crime and police news

Martin C. Barry, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

On April 10, as a result of the vigilance of staff members, contraband and unauthorized items were seized at the Federal Training Centre, a multi-level security federal prison located in the City of Laval’s Saint-Vincent-de-Paul district.

The contraband and unauthorized items seized included hashish, cocaine, tobacco and cell phones with accessories. The total estimated institutional value of this seizure was $51,892$.

The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) says it uses a number of tools to prevent drugs from entering its institutions. These tools include ion scanners and drug-detector dogs to search buildings, personal property, inmates and visitors.

CSC says it is heightening measures to prevent contraband from entering its institutions in order to help ensure a safe and secure environment for all. The agency says it also works in partnership with the police to take action against those who attempt to introduce contraband into correctional institutions.

CSC has set up a telephone tip line (1‑866‑780‑3784) for all federal penal institutions so that it may receive additional information about activities relating to security at CSC institutions.

These activities may be related to drug use or trafficking that may threaten the safety and security of visitors, inmates and staff members working at CSC institutions. Information shared over the toll-free number is protected and callers remain anonymous.

Photo: An aerial view of the Correctional Service of Canada’s Federal Training Centre in Saint-Vincent-de-Paul.

Quebec singer Michèle Richard fined $500 for breaking dog leash rule

Legendary Quebec popular singer Michèle Richard faced a judge last week at the Palais de Justice in Laval where she was fined for having her dog off its leash during an incident in which a woman suffered a dog bite.

In May 2024, the 79-year-old performer was getting her hair done at a beauty salon in Laval, while her 11-year-old black Labrador lay nearby on the floor.

When another customer came over to pat the dog, the animal reacted in a way that was friendly and receptive at first. However, a short time later, when the client approached the dog another time to pat it, it bit her.

Although the woman who was bitten didn’t immediately seek out medical help for her injury, some colleagues she saw later summoned an ambulance and a formal complaint was filed with the police.

Appearing before municipal court judge Michel Moisan, Richard explained that the dog had always been well-behaved, but that he may have been startled when approached the second time while he was sleeping.

The judge told Richard that, according to City of Laval regulations, dogs are supposed to be kept on a leash at all times in public places, and that the leash should not exceed six feet. He fined her $500 plus court costs after finding her guilty of breaking the dog leash by-law.

Photo: Michèle Richard. (Photo: Facebook)

Car lands in tree after driver loses control in Laval-Ouest

Two men in their early 20s with a taste for raw speed learned the hard way last week that reckless driving can land you in some very odd places.

Travelling at high speed along 17^th Ave. near 74^th St. and Sainte-Rose Blvd. on the evening of April 21, the pair crashed into a parked pickup truck, then flew into the hair, landing in the branches of a tree.

Personnel from the Laval Fire Dept. responded to a 9-1-1 call with 14 firefighters and supervising staff to oversee the rescue.

Such was the extent of the damage to the vehicle that the LFD had to use special hydraulic cutting and separation tools to free at least one of the passengers from the wreck.

Suffering from injuries to the legs as well as body abrasions, they were placed in the hands of paramedics with Urgences-Santé. In the meantime, an investigation of the circumstances has been opened by the Laval Police.

Martin C. Barry, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

While many Laval residents were having a well-deserved break during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, Laval Fire Dept. personnel were busy dealing with emergencies that included two house fires and a rescue operation on the Rivière-des-Prairies involving a couple of stranded dogs.

In the first of the fires, a home on 69th Ave. in Chomedey was seriously damaged by flames and smoke on the evening of December 31 following a blaze believed to have broken out as a result of incense embers spilling onto a carpet.

Flames spread quickly throughout the mostly-wooden structure of the building. One person ended up being taken to hospital.

Damage to the building was estimated at $200,000 (a possible insurance write-off), with an additional $50,000 in damages to interior furnishings.

in the second fire, this time around 1:30 am on January 2, a two-storey residential building on de Galais Ave., a few blocks east of 69th Ave., suffered around $50,000 in structural damages and $10,000 damages to furnishings, as a result of a fire that was set off by an overheated electrical connection.

Firefighters determined the source of the blaze to have been in the kitchen of the upstairs unit of the building.

Finally, on the afternoon of January 1, the Laval Fire Dept. was called in to rescue two dogs which had wandered out onto the half-frozen ice on the Rivière-des-Prairies and were unable to get back to safety without expert help.

They were “returned safe and sound to their owner,” the Association des Pompiers de Laval reported on their X feed.

SQ pursuit of inebriated man ends up a tree in Laval

An inebriated 53-year-old man from Saint-Paul near Joliette led Sûreté du Québec on a wild chase last week which culminated in Laval where SQ officers were forced to pull him out of a tree.

After the man was seen leaving his home visibly intoxicated around 7:45 am, the SQ issued a bulletin for officers to be on the lookout. Around 9 am, he hijacked a public works salt truck, but abandoned it later and continued on foot.

He then stole an SUV and made his way to Laval where he reportedly abandoned the vehicle around 10:30 am, after which he climbed into a tree where he remained for nearly three hours.

Following lengthy negotiations with the police, the man was persuaded around 1:30 pm to come down with the help of a ladder furnished by the Laval Fire Dept., after which he was placed under arrest by the SQ.

He faces several charges, which include fleeing the police, dangerous driving and vehicle theft. Additional charges might also follow, according to the SQ.

The suspect, who was reported to have had previous run-ins with the police, was remaindered in custody for an evaluation of his mental state and fitness to stand trial.

LPD seek info from victims of Laval teacher charged with sex crime

A Laval man who taught at two Laval-area schools has been charged by police in the North Shore community of Blainville with sexual assault against a minor.

The Blainville Police allege that François Durocher, age 60, assaulted a minor sometime between 2002 and 2005.

Arraigned at the Palais de Justice in Saint-Jérôme, Durocher taught at École secondaire Curé-Antoine-Labelle in Laval’s Sainte Rose district, as well as at École primaire Villemaire also in Sainte-Rose.

The Blainville Police are inviting potential victims of the former teacher to come forward with additional information. Anyone with information is asked to call 450-434-5305, extension #7250.