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A man who fired a shot toward four people near Dorchester Square during an argument was sentenced Thursday to a five-year prison term.
Quebec Court Judge Silvie Kovacevich agreed with a joint recommendation from lawyers on both sides of the case at the Montreal courthouse that Thomas Makdessi, 25, of Lachine, be sentenced to an overall five-year prison term. He was convicted of discharging the firearm, on July 17, 2021, with the intent to wound or endanger the life of a person and to lesser sentences for four other offences he pleaded guilty to earlier this year, including possession of cannabis.
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With time served factored into the sentence, Makdessi was left to serve a prison term of more than 21 months as of Thursday.
No one was injured in the shooting, which took place on the evening of July 17, 2021 on Metcalfe St. downtown.
According to a police report filed as evidence, Makdessi got into an argument with a group of four men as they exited the Jean Coutu pharmacy at Ste-Catherine and Metcalfe Sts. One of the four men made a comment about the Gucci brand “man purse” Makdessi was carrying.
Makdessi responded by saying: “Let’s settle this in an alley.”
When Makdessi pleaded guilty in February, he agreed with a joint statement of facts that the argument continued on Metcalfe St. and that he fired a shot toward the men when one of them made a movement with his right hand toward his belt.
Makdessi admitted he fired the shot to scare the men in an effort to get them to leave. The bullet ended up damaging a Hyundai that was parked nearby.
“With your actions and your behaviour on July 17, 2021, the public and society in general was very lucky because no one was injured during the events that took place,” the judge said before she sentenced Makdessi. “They were really lucky because you discharged a firearm in the middle of downtown.”
The prison term will be followed by 10 months of probation.
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