Men arrested in Côte-St-Luc in October charged with possessing incendiary material
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Two men who were arrested in Côte-St-Luc last October after incendiary material was allegedly found in their vehicle have been formally charged, though one remains at large.
Abdou Khadre Sene and Artemio Cabrera Pazos were scheduled to appear in a Montreal court Tuesday after they were each charged June 5 with a single count of possession of incendiary material.
Quebec's prosecution service said Cabrera Pazos appeared in court and is scheduled to appear again in August. However, Sene did not appear and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.
The city of Côte-St-Luc said in early October an officer from its Public Security department had spotted suspicious individuals in a vehicle parked outside a synagogue around 2 a.m. and called police. At the time, Montreal police said officers stopped a suspect vehicle nearby and found incendiary material inside.
The two occupants of the vehicle were arrested that night and released with a promise to appear. Police and prosecutors declined to comment Wednesday about why it took more than eight months to lay charges.
Rabbi Reuben Poupko of the Beth Israel Beth Aaron — where the suspicious vehicle had been parked — said two Molotov cocktails were found outside the synagogue later that morning, during the celebration of the Jewish New Year.
'All of the violence that we've seen in Montreal and beyond, the firebombing of synagogues, the shootings at Jewish schools overnight, the recent attacks in Harrisburg (Pennsylvania); Washington D.C.; Boulder, Col., obviously, is evidence of a climate of violence against Jews and Jewish institutions and for the court to have ever granted these individuals release with a promise was absurd and a dereliction of duty,' Poupko said.
Police declined to comment on whether the two men may have been linked to any incendiary devices found outside the synagogue, or whether the investigation remains ongoing, citing the fact that the case is before the court. But police spokeswoman Mélanie Bergeron said in response to a question from The Gazette that nothing suggests the men are linked to a terrorist group.
The two men face a maximum sentence of two years less a day and or a fine of $5,000.
A search of court records shows Sene faces a series of charges in another case, including receiving a material benefit from human trafficking, assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm and kidnapping.
Three minors arrested the same night in the neighbouring Côte-Des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-De-Grâce borough, who were also found in a vehicle with incendiary material, have also appeared in court.
Prosecutors said one has pleaded guilty to possessing incendiary material and was sentenced to 12 months of probation, including a nine-month curfew, and is banned from possessing incendiary materials, explosive substances, lighters or matches.
A sentencing hearing for one of the other two is scheduled to take place this month, with a sentencing hearing for other scheduled for July.
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