'Extremely disappointed': Family of homicide victim storms out of courtroom as judge reads decision
Emotions boiled over after a judge acquitted two out of three defendants in a manslaughter case, while the third accused has since died.
It's been exactly four years to the day that Scotty Pate, 27, was shot and killed on Ashland Avenue, south of Dundas Street in London, Ont.
Days following the shooting, London police arrested and charged three people. Denny Doucet, 40, Nicole Moyer, 35, of London, and Jason Sylvestre, 36, of Windsor.
All three people were charged with manslaughter in connection with Pate's death — all three were out on bail.
The judge-alone-trial began last October, and had been delayed a number of times.
Today, before reading her verdict, Justice Patricia Moore told the court she had sent off her decision for a final edit and on Sunday, she was notified that one of the three defendants, Sylvestre, passed away in a motorcycle crash last month in Windsor, Ont.
After reviewing all the evidence heard during the initial three-week trial last year, Moore said she could not rely on a central witness' testimony, who died before the court proceedings began.
The key witness, Chris McNeil, who had testified in a preliminary trial and was able to link all three of the accused together, said that on the day of Pate's death, he was asked by Sylvestre if he wanted to help him rob Pate, but he refused. He added that Moyer said she’d drive, and Doucet was there too.
On that same night McNeil got a call from a panicked Sylvestre who said, “Something went wrong.”
McNeil testified, “Jay [Sylvestre] said he wrapped a gun in his shirt and threw it under a dumpster and asked me to go get it.”
During the trial, court heard that Sylvestre tried-on a black t-shirt that was recovered by police, behind a tire shop on Dundas Street, next to a dumpster and wrapped around a handgun.
During his testimony, McNeil also said he received a call from accused Denny Doucet who told him to report the car stolen. But McNeil said he didn’t know the “car was used in murder.”
That vehicle was found, burnt out, with no forensic evidence to trace.
Justice Moore said based on McNeil’s lengthy criminal record, that included over 36 convictions and previous incidents where he lied to police, she felt it was "unsafe to convict based on his testimony."
Moore acquitted Doucet and Moyer of conspiracy to commit robbery and manslaughter, but told the court she would have convicted Sylvestre, of manslaughter in Pate’s death.
Before court proceedings began, Pate’s family members were told by Moyer’s lawyer not to threaten or speak to the defendant or they would be thrown out of the courtroom.
Additional court constables had to be called in during the proceedings.
After the verdict was read, Pate’s family began shouting at the defendants and stormed out of the courtroom visibly upset.
Speaking to CTV News shortly after the verdict was read, Pate’s Aunt Ronnette Moxley-Lee said their family is "extremely disappointed."
"That's another gut punch for the family… four years to the day, and we walk out of here with sad faces, and they get to go home to their families,” said Moxley-Lee.
Since Sylvestre passed away, the manslaughter charge against him has been abated.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trudeau and Harris? Poilievre and Trump? Here's who Canadians think would work best with: survey
As Americans prepare to elect their next president on Tuesday, new data from the Angus Reid Institute suggests Canadians hold differing views as to which federal party leaders would be best suited to deal with either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.
B.C. port employers launch lockout at terminals in labour dispute with workers
Employers at British Columbia ports say they are going ahead with locking out more than 700 foremen across the province after strike activities from union members began.
Months after VRBO booking, Taylor Swift fan told home 'not available' during Vancouver concert
A frustrated Taylor Swift fan is speaking out after being pushed from a short-term rental she booked for the upcoming Vancouver leg of the superstar’s Eras Tour.
Felonies, assassination attempts and a last-minute change on the ticket leads voters to Tuesday's U.S. election
A campaign that has careened through a felony trial, incumbent being pushed off the ticket and assassination attempts comes down to Election Day on Tuesday.
Measles cases in New Brunswick more than double in three days
A measles outbreak declared in New Brunswick’s Zone 3 last week, which includes Fredericton and the upper Saint John River Valley, has more than doubled since last week.
Prison sentences handed down for sexually abusive London, Ont. parents
In handing down the sentences for two London parents, Justice Thomas Heeney told the court, "The facts of this case were the most egregious that I have encountered during my 26 years on the bench."
She was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes about a year ago. Here's how her condition was reversed
A year ago, Lorraine O'Quinn was coping with stress, chronic illness and Type 2 diabetes. Then she discovered a health program that she says changed her life.
Surprise swing state? Iowa poll has Harris suddenly leading
Based on victories in the past two elections and polls leading up to Tuesday’s election, Donald Trump had seemed almost certain to win Iowa, but a new poll has Kamala Harris with a sudden three-point lead.
Russia suspected of sending incendiary devices on US- and Canada-bound planes, Wall Street Journal reports
Incendiary devices that ignited in Germany and the United Kingdom in July were part of a covert Russian operation that aimed to start fires aboard cargo and passenger flights heading to the U.S. and Canada, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Monday, citing Western security officials.