A 12-year-old boy who shot his 16-year-old brother dead in Dorval with his grandfather's gun on January 21, 2013 has been sentenced to two years' probation.
On Friday a judge handed down the sentence, which includes strict conditions, such as not being allowed to access a computer or internet except for when required for academic assignments.
He will have a 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew and will not be allowed to have a cell phone. He will be required to attend therapy sessions.
The Crown Prosecutor sought to have the young man, now 14, serve 18 more months in detention. He had already served 11 months at a youth detention facility.
Prior to the shooting, the two brothers normally got along well. However the boy had a habit of stealing his mother's car at night and consuming drugs and alcohol and stealing, according to court testimony.
Several weeks before the tragedy, the same boy participated in an armed robbery on Sources Blvd., wielding - according to prosecutors - the very same prohibited snubnose 9 mm Beretta that he later used to shoot his brother in the head from a distance of 17 inches (40 cm) away.
In 2012 the federal government adopted a new provision of the Criminal Code that allows for adult sentences in the case of young offenders committing violent crimes. The changes had no bearing on the case, however, as the shooter was only 12 at the time.
The boy had been staying with a relative since December.
While the defence said that he was doing well at school and had shown remorse, the prosecution argued that he in fact still blamed his brother for stealing their grandfather's gun.
The prosecutor told CTV Montreal that the suitability of the sentence will remain an unknown for quite some time.
"The objective and goal is always the rehabilitation of the youth. It’s mainly to ensure the protection of the public in the long term," said Crown Prosecutor Marie-Claude Bourassa. "Will this decision assure that? I don’t think this decision or any decision that could be given today could assure that. The youth is still a young age, he just turned 14, so only time will tell."
