Frédérick Gingras, the man charged with killing two people during a shooting spree in Pointe-aux-Trembles this month, has been found fit to appear in court.
Gingras, 21, was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation following his arrest after two people were killed and another person was injured Dec. 5. He was apprehended by police after a long car chase that came to an end in Brossard.
On Friday, Quebec Court Judge Manon Ouimet was informed that the psychiatrist’s evaluation determined Gingras is fit to appear in court. The psychiatrist recommended that Gingras be kept at the Philippe Pinel Institute so he can continue to be evaluated before he is returned to a regular detention centre.
“It means he knows where he is. He understands he is in a court, understands the charges he faces, understands the role of a defence lawyer and is able to talk to his lawyer to assist in his defence,” prosecutor Catherine Perreault explained to reporters.
Gingras waved energetically to a woman who sat in front of the courtroom during the brief hearing. The same woman covered her face as she exited the courtroom and refused to talk to reporters.
Gingras is charged with the first-degree murders of James Jardin and Chantal Cyr. The victims were shot in nearby locations in eastern Montreal.
Cyr, 49, did not know Gingras and was killed as she sat in an idling vehicle while waiting to pick up her daughter from her job.
A 16-year-old girl who was in the same apartment as Jardin before he was shot told TVA Nouvelles that Gingras and Jardin, 22, had known each other for years.
According to court records, Jardin had a lengthy criminal record that included several convictions for having violated the conditions of a sentence he received as a youth. At the time of his death, Jardin, who was originally from St-Lin, was on probation after having completed a six-month prison term in March. He received the sentence last year after pleading guilty to mischief by destroying property.
It is alleged that Gingras shot Jardin first and then left the victim’s apartment before going on the shooting spree. Cyr was shot a short time later.
Gingras is also charged with the attempted murders of Gérard Lalonde, a man who was shot through the door of his apartment after Cyr was killed, and Annie Baillargeon, a woman who lived close to where Lalonde was shot. According to a source familiar with the investigation, Gingras allegedly tried to shoot her but missed.
The case returns to court on March 7 for a hearing to determine if Gingras will have a preliminary inquiry or if his case will go directly to trial.
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