‘Please have mercy on me’
Man convicted in 2015 murders of Mac’s clerks pleads to families for forgiveness
The defence lawyer for a man found guilty of two counts of first degree murder in the shooting deaths of two Mac’s employees in 2015 has told court imposing a 50-year parole ineligibility on top of a life sentence would be “vengeful” and “lacking in compassion.”
Lawyer Naeem Rauf said Monday that even though what his client Laylin Delorme did was “indefensible,” life in prison and a half century before he can apply for parole is “monstrous” and “evil.”
Delorme was one of three people involved in a robbery spree that left Mac’s store clerks Ricky Massain Cenabre and Karanpal Singh Bhangu dead after they were both shot in separate attacks on Dec. 18, 2015.
The now 27-year-old was found guilty of the murders as well as two counts of robbery by a jury in June.
A 16-year-old boy — who was 13 at the time of the shootings — was handed a three-year sentence on two manslaughter charges in the deaths of Cenabre and Bhangu in late November.
Because of time served, the youth, whose identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, will be released Friday.
Crown prosecutor John Watson argued that a life sentence with 25-year parole ineligibility — which is the maximum for a firstdegree murder conviction — would effectively mean a murder would go unpunished.
“A free pass on a life should not be allowed,” he said.
We are worse than ever before, emotionally broken, family broken, with no one to support us. We are devastated.
A Gladue report presented to court showed that Delorme failed to accept responsibility for the slayings because he believes he was wrongly convicted, Watson said.
Delorme’s claims that he didn’t intend to rob anyone on the night in question nor did he mean to harm anyone was a “hollow statement,” Watson said.
Watson called the killings “gratuitous executions” and “cold blooded in the extreme.”
The Gladue report said Delorme came from a home filled with domestic violence, alcohol abuse and sexual abuse but also detailed his prior criminal history which included two charges of assault with a weapon, assault and drug trafficking as well as his three years as a gang member.
Several members of the Cenabre family spoke in court through victim impact statements including Ricky Massain Cenabre’s 18-yearold son, Cedric Cenabre.
“I’m still overwhelmed with sadness losing him,” he said, adding that he fears reprisal from Delorme’s friends or his family.
Another family friend, Faith Alcazaren, said “words cannot express the pain and anguish our family felt from knowing that he is murdered.”
“We are worse than ever before, emotionally broken, family broken, with no one to support us. We are devastated.”
“Compassion is a word used by the defendants ... ( but) how much compassion did they have when they pulled the trigger and murdered my defenceless uncle who co-operated? His life was like nothing to them.”
No members of the Bhangu family offered victim impact statements.
Reading from a prepared, hand written statement, a soft-spoken Delorme pleaded for forgiveness from the victim’s families as well as his own.
“I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me,” he said.
“Please have mercy on me today.”
The other adult suspect, Colten Steinhauer, has yet to go to trial.
Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Robert Graesser is expected to hand down his sentencing decision at 11 a.m. Tuesday.