Ex investigator attacked at home A defendant gets away with 4

Ex-investigator attacked at home: A defendant gets away with 4 years in prison

A Montrealer involved in the caning of a retired Montreal police detective at his home got away with four years in prison but will be free on preventive detention in a few weeks.

“I suggest you get help, we don’t want to see you here again,” Judge Joëlle Roy said, encouraging the defendant to take responsibility at the Montreal courthouse this Friday.

Sandel Pierre nonchalantly limited himself to an unenthusiastic “yes” before returning to custody for his crime committed in June 2020.

That day, a group of masked people broke into the house of ex-investigator Pietro Poletti. As soon as they saw their target, one of them shouted, “It’s him! before they all attack him with metal bars, bricks and whisks.

“Kill him!” even shouted one of the attackers.

The victim’s mother, an octogenarian, who was present at the scene, was pushed onto her son during the beating.

Aggression by Pietro Poletti

Photo submitted to court

The attack, the motive for which could never be clarified, lasted a few minutes. The attackers then fled, but were quickly found due to their dilettantism.

It so happens that not only did their driver scatter incriminating objects along their escape route, but he was a crack addict using his own car. A neighbor followed him and wrote down the license plate number of the vehicle.

However, when the Crown demanded eight years in prison, the judge considered this far too severe. The fact is that the 21-year-old defendant has no criminal record and he has admitted the facts, opening the door to his rehabilitation.

“We must not punish for the sake of punishment,” said the judge.

Aggression by Pietro Poletti

Photo submitted to court

She added that there was no evidence in the file that Mr Poletti had been targeted because of his previous work as an investigator fighting organized crime.

“There was no violent detention or use of a firearm,” she said afterwards, arguing that the defendants could have used more dangerous objects to attack the victim.

The latter also sustained “minor injuries overall,” the judge estimated, noting that Mr. Poletti was not even able to accurately count the number of brick hits he received on the head.

The judge confirmed that the four-year sentence proposed by the defense remained harsh, followed it and added two years of probation.

“It is certain that we are disappointed,” commented Philippe Vallières-Roland from the Krone, who will examine the possibility of an appeal.

Mr Poletti, who was present at the court, declined to comment.