
Hearing in September on Whether Quebec Daycare Crash Accused Is High-Risk Offender
A court hearing will take place in September into whether a man who killed two children by driving a city bus into a Montreal-area daycare should be declared a high-risk offender.
Superior Court Justice Éric Downs today set aside one week beginning Sept. 15 to hear arguments from prosecutors and the defence team for Pierre Ny St-Amand.
Last week, the 53-year-old former bus driver was found not criminally responsible after Downs agreed with a joint recommendation from the Crown and defence that the accused was likely in psychosis when he crashed the bus into the daycare on Feb. 8, 2023.
Prosecutors have said they will argue that Ny St-Amand should be declared a high-risk offender, a designation that would ensure he is held under strict conditions at a psychiatric facility.
The defence, meanwhile, has said it will challenge whether the high-risk offender status is constitutional, during a separate hearing that Downs said today will be heard over a week beginning Nov. 15.
Downs told defence lawyers he wanted a response from federal government's lawyers on the high-risk designation, which was included in the Criminal Code in 2014 for people found not criminally responsible for violent crimes.
Related Stories
5/1/2025
4/29/2025
Killed in the crash were Jacob Gauthier, 4, and a five-year-old girl named Maëva, whose family name is covered by a publication ban at the request of her parents. Six other children were injured.
The case will return to court on May 27.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Man arrested in Poland on suspicion of spying for Russia
Polish law enforcement has detained a man accused of espionage on behalf of Russia. Source: National Prosecutor's Office of Poland, as reported by European Pravda Details: The Mazovian branch of Poland's National Prosecutor's Office has reported the arrest of 28-year-old Viktor Z., who is suspected of passing information to Russian intelligence that could harm Poland's national security. On the prosecutor's request, he was arrested on 4 June, and searches were conducted at several locations in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. Viktor Z. has been charged with espionage under Article 130 of Poland's Criminal Code. Investigators stated that between 28 February 2024 and 30 April 2025, the man obtained and transmitted classified information to Russia concerning Polish critical defence infrastructure. He is to face a lengthy prison sentence ranging from eight years to life. He is currently being held in custody for a period of three months. The investigation noted that his actions were motivated by pro-Russian views. Background: In late May, Germany charged three suspects with working for Russian intelligence. Investigators disclosed that they had been spying on a veteran who fought for Ukraine's defence forces. In Bavaria, a trial has begun for three individuals reportedly recruited by Russia to carry out sabotage operations in Germany. Earlier in May, German media reported on arrests in Germany and Switzerland of individuals suspected of attempting to send parcels containing explosive devices on instructions from Russian intelligence. The suspects are Ukrainian nationals. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!

Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Man gets 6 years in scam that cost Tampa Bay women close to $1 million
TAMPA — A man who acted as a 'money mule' in a nationwide scheme that involved government impersonators and bilked a pair of Tampa Bay-area women of close to $1 million will spend six years in federal prison, a judge ordered Tuesday. U.S. District Judge William Jung called the crime 'evil and wicked,' noting that the scheme ripped off older adults who were led to believe they'd be arrested if they didn't turn over their life savings. 'It's pretty much the same thing as going in their house and sticking a gun in their temple,' Jung said. 'These people were terrified.' The prison sentence was greater than the three years suggested by federal guidelines, though significantly less than what the judge said he'd planned to impose. Jung was apparently persuaded by arguments from Assistant Public Defender Adam Allen, who said Patel's role in the scheme was limited to that of a courier for what he knew was 'bad money.' It was a job he came to at a low point in his life, his lawyer said. 'He was really depressed and not doing well,' Allen told the judge. 'And those are the types of people that get roped into becoming mules.' Patel, 33, pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit money laundering for his role in the scheme. Federal prosecutors identified 11 victims in seven states. Their collective loss was estimated at close to $1.8 million. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Peresie read a letter from one man who lost $49,000. He wrote that he had to sell his home and struggled to pay expenses. The man 'was devastated by the fraud,' Peresie said. The crime came to light in December 2023 after a Ruskin woman told investigators she'd handed over several large sums of cash and gold at the direction of someone who'd contacted her by phone. The woman, identified in court records by the initials 'E.L.,' believed the person was an officer of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. She gave money to clear up what she was told was an arrest warrant charging her with money laundering. She described several transactions in which a car pulled up to her house before she was instructed to place cash packages in the back seat. She never spoke to the driver. Over several months and multiple transactions, the woman emptied her bank accounts, a life insurance policy and a Roth IRA. By the time the scheme came to the attention of law enforcement, she'd lost $170,000. A Pasco County woman told authorities a similar story. That woman, identified in court records as 'D.L.,' described a series of transactions for cash and gold bars with a person she believed was a Treasury agent. Her total loss was pegged at $732,000. The final exchange occurred outside a Ruskin Circle K, under the watch of Hillsborough deputies and U.S. Secret Service agents. 'E.L.' had been told to deliver $27,000 in gold coins and bars. Agents instead gave her a package of soap, which she placed in the back of a red Jeep. They followed the driver all the way to the Wiregrass mall in Wesley Chapel. In the mall parking lot, they watched as Patel got out and opened the package. He was then arrested. Patel tried to cooperate with investigators, his attorney said. But he could provide only scarce information about the people who employed him. No one else involved in the scheme has been brought to justice. The perpetrators were based in call centers in India. 'I need my sentence to send a message to wherever these people are,' Judge Jung said. 'You're hiding in some boiler room, but some of your minions are getting a serious, big sentence.' Patel's involvement in the scheme lasted only about 60 days, his attorney said. He had no role in planning or organizing the scam. He has otherwise lived a law-abiding life. He holds a college degree in mechanical engineering from a school in his native India. He immigrated with his family to the U.S. in 2018. They lived in New Jersey. Patel pursued a master's degree at Marshall University in West Virginia, but his limited English led him to drop out, according to a sentencing memo. His language difficulties made it difficult for him to hold a job. He'd worked for short periods as a 7-Eleven cashier, a Bank of America software engineer and a soil inspector for an engineering company. He married an American woman, but separated after she became physically abusive, his lawyer said. His life in the U.S. was characterized as 'one failure after another,' the memo stated. He became a 'money mule' out of desperation. In October 2023, he was offered a job that involved picking up and delivering packages. He was told little else, but came to learn the packages held money and gold. He received directions on his phone through WhatsApp about where to go to pick up the packages. He never met the person who gave the directions. Once he arrived, someone would come out and place the package in the back of his car. He'd then obtain further instructions on where to deliver it. For every package, Patel was reimbursed the cost of his airfare and car rentals. Although he assisted in the laundering of more than $1.5 million, Patel received a meager $6,000 for his work. He knew he was involved in an illegal scheme, court records state. But he knew nothing about its scope and structure. Patel sat in court Tuesday wearing an orange jail uniform. He listened to the words of an interpreter who translated the proceedings from Gujarati, his native language. His father, Bharat Patel, urged the judge to impose a lesser sentence. His crime was due to the bad influence of a friend, he said. As he spoke, his son placed his hands over his face. In his own words to the court, Pranav Patel said he wished he could apologize to the victims and vowed never to make the same mistake. 'I came to the USA for a better life,' he said, speaking through the interpreter. 'And I feel very sorry and bad ... that the best years of my life I spent this way.' He said he never knew that what he did was making people miserable. But their misery ran deeper than the theft, the judge said. Patel stole their peace of mind that they could never fall victim to such a fraud. 'You were a vital part of the scheme,' Jung said, 'which was just about as cold and nasty of a scheme as I've ever seen." Times staff writer Alexa Coultoff contributed to this report.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Los Angeles Craigslist ad for paid protesters a prank, podcast host says
The Brief A Craigslist ad appeared to be offering thousands of dollars to people volunteering to protest in Los Angeles. The ad was posted the day before thousands began protesting in downtown Los Angeles against ICE and President Donald Trump's immigration policies. The advertisement was reportedly a prank, according to the podcast host who made the listing. LOS ANGELES - Protests against ICE and President Donald Trump's immigration policies have continued for days in downtownLos Angeles, with the president calling in the National Guard and hundreds of Marines to control the demonstrations. Now, a recent ad posted on a Los Angeles-area Craigslist forum is at the center of controversy. Some are using the ad as proof that protesters are being paid, but the man who made the listing now says the whole thing was a prank for a podcast. RELATED: LA ICE protests, Day 5: Demonstrators gather again as tensions continue to run high What we know An ad popped up on the Los Angeles Craigslist forum for general labor jobs late last week. The listing was looking for "the toughest bad***es in the city," offering to pay them $6,500 to $12,500 a week. "We are forming a select team of THE TOUGHEST dudes in the area. This unit will be activated only when the situation demands it — BUT YOU GET PAID EVERY WEEK NO MATTER WHAT," the now-deleted ad reads. "High-pressure, high-risk, no room for hesitation. We need individuals who do not break, panic, or fold under stress and are basically all around kick*** dudes." The listing said it was looking for people with military experience, "except for Marines, we don't work with Marines anymore, long story," and people with "experience facing trained opposition." The backstory A day after the Craigstlist ad was posted, massive protests broke out in downtown Los Angeles to speak out against multiple ICE raids across the region. Protests continued throughout the weekend and into the next week in Los Angeles, Paramount and Orange County. SUGGESTED: Newsom fires back at Trump over deployment of National Guard in LA Trump has since deployed the National Guard and several hundred Marines to the area to try and disperse the protesters. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has sued the Trump administration over the move, but a federal judge on Tuesday denied Newsom's request to block the deployment. But the advertisement was not related to these immigration protests in Los Angeles at all. It was apparently a prank. What they're saying Joey LaFleur posted the ad. He hosts a prank show called "Goofcon1." LaFleur told the Associated Press that he "had no idea it was ever going to be connected to the riots. It was really a weird coincidence." SUGGESTED: Trump defends decision to 'SEND IN THE TROOPS' amid LA protests In a livestream the day after the post, LaFleur said he'd posted another similar ad in a forum in the Austin, Texas, area. The other side On his Truth Social account on Sunday, Trump posted simply "paid insurrectionists," amid a flurry of posts about the LA protests. While it was unclear if Trump knew about the Craigslist ad, many people shared screenshots of the listing on social media, claiming it was proof of paid rioters. "JUST ANNOUNCED: CALIFORNIA RIOT IS A FUNDED OPERATION," read one X post, adding that "President Trump was right about everything." "Accidentally goofed the entire nation on the latest @goofcon1," LaFleur said in an Instagram story, addressing the Craigslist ad. The Source Information in this story is from an unlisted Craigstlist ad, a YouTube stream from the "Goofcon1" channel, an interview between podcast host Joey LaFleur and the Associated Press, comments made by President Donald Trump at Fort Bragg on June 10, 2025, a June 8, 2025, Truth Social post from Trump and other social media posts about the Craigslist ad.