In Kingston, the Crown decided to drop several cases against a 20-year-old black youth arrested for the murder of a suspected white supremacist in the township last year.
Vaughan Roberts was charged with non-premeditated murder, attempted murder and unlawful possession of a firearm. He pleaded guilty Wednesday to a single charge of possession of a restricted firearm.
The reduction of the cases and the conviction of Vaughan Roberts came after the young man was released on bail in October in Kingston.
The Crown alleges that Vaughan Roberts entered the apartment building of victim Jason Wagar on the morning of Aug. 12, 2021, four shots were fired and two men, including the defendants, fled alone.
A 911 call led to police arresting Roberts. Police found in his backpack a 9mm handgun, $ 7,000 cash and 76 oxycodone pills. The Crown maintained that the gun was used to kill the 43-year-old victim.
The Crown claimed that Roberts had unsuccessfully tried to kill another fugitive. A trunks, a machete and two pellet guns were found in the victim’s apartment.
By agreeing to release him on bail, Ontario Superior Court Judge Marc Smith explained that Vaughan Roberts was facing racist attacks at the time from the victim who had a serious criminal past.
The circumstances in which the crime was committed are relevant in this case if it can be proven that the victim intended to assault the accused.he said.
We must consider the social context and discrimination against blacks in the legal system as noted by the defense.he added, saying that everyone seems to believe that Roberts is the subject of a hate crime.
That’s why Crown prosecutor Greg Skerkowski confirmed on Wednesday that Vaughan Roberts actually acted in self -defense as argued by defendant’s attorney Selwyn Pieters.
Me Pieters reiterated the defining factors of this goal, such as his client’s skin color, self -defense and racism against blacks.
However, no facts were presented at the videoconference hearing on Wednesday morning. Me Skerkowski commissioned a report before the sentence.
However, Me Pieters suggested at the previous hearing that the victim was planning to break into his client’s house to steal it, because his client was black.
Anti-black racism is not the fiction of black imaginationsdeclared to Me Pieters that he had noticed that his client was a victim ofa racist conspiracy from Jason Wagar.
Vaughan Roberts, who is from Ajax near Toronto, is in court for his guilty plea.
He will appear in court again on July 7 for his sentencing hearing in the only case in which he pleaded guilty.
He now only faces a maximum sentence of 3 years in prison instead of life in prison with no right to be released for 25 years.
Me Pieters suggested that he would instead ask for one year imprisonment. His client will remain under house arrest under strict conditions as ordered by the court last fall.
Source: Radio-Canada
