A West Island man has been charged in connection with a stabbing outside a bar in Île-Bizard early Saturday.
The attempted murder charge comes just a few years after Dave Ouellette, 35, finished serving a sentence for another serious crime committed in the normally tranquil island community.
Dave Ouellette.
During the summer of 2008, he was sentenced to an overall 10-year prison term for having killed cyclist Murielle Chauvet while he was driving recklessly on Aug. 21, 2006.
The 43-year-old mother of two was killed on impact. Ouellette was initially charged with manslaughter, but on Feb. 18, 2008, the accusation was stayed when he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and leaving the scene of an accident.
When Ouellette entered the guilty plea, his lawyer said he had consumed drugs before he stole a sports utility vehicle. He sped off in the Jeep after the vehicle’s owner saw what was happening and rushed toward him. The Jeep flipped over after Ouellette struck Chauvet and he tried to flee the scene on foot.
At the time, Ouellette’s sentence set a precedent for cases involving a conviction for dangerous driving causing death. With time already served, he had six years left on his prison term after he was sentenced. He tried to appeal the sentence, but his request was rejected by the Quebec Court of Appeal in 2009.
On Monday, Ouellette, a resident of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, made a brief appearance at the Montreal courthouse, where he was charged with attempted murder and ordered to remain detained.
Early Saturday, a 20-year-old resident of the Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough was stabbed outside a bar on Cherrier St. in Île-Bizard. Witnesses told Montreal police they believed they knew who the assailant was, and Ouellette was arrested the following day in Terrebonne. According to the Montreal police, an argument started inside the bar and then continued outside where the victim was stabbed. Hours after he was taken to a hospital, a large, dried pool of blood was still visible on a median on Cherrier St. He was later reported to be in serious but stable condition.
Ouellette is also charged with resisting arrest when the police found him on Sunday. At the time of his arrest, Ouellette was on probation. It was part of a sentence he received on Sept. 6, 2016, when he pleaded guilty to assault and breaking and entering in a case that involved conjugal violence. He received a 12-month prison term along with three years of probation.