Released despite high risk of recurrence

A bully sentenced to 12 years in prison for the manslaughter of a resident of Val-Bélair was released, nine years after the crime despite the lack of remorse and a “high risk of recidivism”.

In August 2011, Bryand Gagné and two accomplices went to Guy Berthiaume in Val-Bélair with the intention of scaring him. A story of unpaid drug debt claimed by the victim, a collector, was at the center of the case.

Amateur of extreme fights, Gagné had been mandated by friends at the center of this affair to go and teach Guy Berthiaume for $ 140. On the spot, the victim was severely beaten by Gagné while his accomplice had even used a sledgehammer to hit Berthiaume who died on the spot.

The court had reported “extreme violence” on the part of the accused, leaving the victim in “a pitiful state” before leaving the scene. It is thanks to the footprints left on the victim that the investigators were able to trace it back to Gagné and his accomplices.

In December 2013, Bryand Gagné was sentenced to 12 years in prison for manslaughter. The evidence showed that the attackers did not want to kill the victim.

It was not, however, the first time that the accused had been charged with this kind of crime. In 2006, he was charged with aggravated assault after a settling of scores for a friend. In total, Bryand Gagné admitted to having made a dozen settlements for compensation.

Even while in detention, the now 43-year-old man continued his “usual pattern of violence” according to the Parole Board. He even admits to feeling “a certain gratification” when he uses violence, also refusing to integrate a protection sector so as not to “harm [son] image ”after receiving a beating himself.

Despite a “high risk of recidivism”, Bryand Gagné can now be released on statutory release after two-thirds of his sentence as required by law. Nine years after the crime, the one who had also been accused of drug trafficking will therefore benefit from his release from prison.

Yet two halfway houses refused his admission in anticipation of his release and house arrest. He will therefore benefit from “strict and structured supervision” at the Marcel-Caron halfway house, in Saint-Sauveur, Quebec, where he will have the right to outings.

A series of bans, including not using drugs and alcohol, associating with criminalized people and going to bars, was imposed on him.