MONTREAL — The lawyer for one of the men charged in the drive-by shooting of a 15-year-old girl in Montreal has told a jury his client should be found guilty of manslaughter, not murder.
Marc Labelle said in his closing arguments today at the Montreal courthouse that his client Salim Touaibi admits to firing the shot that killed Meriem Boundaoui and therefore cannot be acquitted.
But Labelle says the evidence suggests Touaibi didn’t mean to kill anyone when he shot at the Volkswagen Jetta while the teen was in the passenger seat on Feb. 7, 2021.
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Touaibi and his co-defendant, Aymane Bouadi, were charged with first-degree murder after the 15-year-old was killed in Montreal’s St-Léonard borough by shots fired from a Mercedes that had pulled up beside the Jetta.
The trial in Superior Court has heard that Boundaoui was caught in the crossfire of a dispute that did not involve her, which arose between two family-owned businesses over parking spots.
Labelle says his client fired toward the car because he was afraid of being shot and wanted to scare others nearby, but had not realized the teenager was inside.
Tomorrow the defence lawyer for Aymane Bouadi, the other accused of first degree murder, will present his final arguments. The crown will then present their final arguments before Monday when the judge will give instructions to the jury before they are sequestered until they reach a verdict.
