One of the inmates charged with murdering a man inside the Montreal Detention Centre appeared to be running the sector where Michel Barrette was killed two years ago.
Prosecutor Louis Bouthillier asked the jury hearing the trial of Tarik (No Limit) Biji, 39, and two other men to recall what witnesses said of Biji and to pay attention to his body language — captured on surveillance cameras inside the P6 sector he was serving time in — before and after Barrette was beaten to death on June 21, 2016. The video images appear to show Biji rounding up several other inmates to cell 203 where, according to the Crown’s theory, Barrette was beaten for more than 20 minutes before he died of internal bleeding. The other two men accused of murder and aggravated assault are Garmy Guerrier, 31, and Jason (Red) Côté, 33.
While making his closing arguments in the trial on Tuesday, Bouthillier conceded that other inmates were captured on video entering cell 203 while Barrette was beaten, but he asked the jury to focus on the three accused. There was no video camera inside cell 203, so the prosecution’s evidence leans heavily on two other inmates who each witnessed part of the assault. That includes one who requested a publication ban on his identity because he fears for his safety.
The witness told the jury he saw Biji stomp on Barrette’s head while the victim was lying on the floor after he had suffered several blows already. Bouthillier noted that witnesses described Biji as the head of a committee of inmates who made the rules in the P6 sector of the Montreal Detention Centre. Video images appear to support this claim. Minutes before Barrette was beaten, Biji is seen summoning other inmates to the cell and appeared to be issuing orders.
“The evidence shows everything went through Biji,” Bouthillier said.
The Crown’s theory is that Biji and other inmates who made the rules learned that Barrette, who had just arrived in the sector, had tobacco on him and they either wanted it or planned to collect “a tax” from him if he smuggled more into the detention centre. Biji and two other inmates were captured on video entering Barrette’s cell after he had been beaten.
“We can imagine they were looking for tobacco,” Bouthillier said.
This report will be updated.