Two men admit to killing Rwandan refugee over simple drug debt
Two men who were set to undergo a lengthy murder trial before a jury next week at the Montreal courthouse opted instead on Thursday to admit to their roles in the violent death of Gilbert Nshimiyumukiza, a Rwandan refugee who had come to Canada to avoid the violence he witnessed in his home country.
Nshimiyumukiza arrived in Montreal in 2009 looking to begin a new life after he witnessed his parents be killed as part of the genocide that ripped Rwanda apart. His new life in Canada began well but, as friends and relatives of the victim would tell the Montreal Gazette in 2016, Nshimiyumukiza struggled to set aside what he witnessed in his homeland and it became apparent he gradually began a descent into drug abuse.
On Thursday, Superior Court Justice Michel Pennou was informed of how Nshimiyumukiza ended up being shot in the head on April 30, 2016, in his basement apartment on Grenet St., in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough. This happened during a home invasion while an alleged drug dealer was looking to collect a debt.
Two men who were part of the home invasion — Jermaine Gero, 44, and Nikita Hunt, 29 — pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and manslaughter respectively on Thursday and put an end to what was expected to be a six-week trial with jury selection set to begin on Monday. Both men admitted they were there to support Robertson Shamora, 31, a Montreal resident who for weeks had been looking to collect money that Nshimiyumukiza owed him for drugs. Shamora remains accused of first-degree murder in the case but has yet to be arrested.
“After entering the building they headed directly to (Nshimiyumukiza’s) apartment and forced their way in. All the while, Shamora was shouting, “Yeah, where’s my money, where’s my money now,” prosecutor Genevieve Rondeau Marchand said as she read from a joint statement of facts prepared for Thursday’s hearing.
Gero was armed with a gun during the home invasion and he pointed it at Nshimiyumukiza and his roommate while Hunt and Shamora yelled at them. A fourth man, who has never been identified, joined the trio and used a small bat to assault Nshimiyumukiza’s roommate. A publication ban has been placed on the roommate’s name out of concerns for his safety. He was scheduled to testify as a prosecution witness during the trial. He would have testified that he saw Gero shoot his friend in the head. Nshimiyumukiza was taken to a hospital where he died the following day.
Images of all four men who took part in the home invasion were captured on a surveillance camera as they entered the apartment building at around 1 a.m. Another video camera captured images of the men as the left the apartment through a living room window. Police later recovered a palm print off the window that would provide a match to Hunt. Gero left behind a pair of distinctive yellow gloves, visible on footage from one of the cameras in the building, and police recovered his DNA from one of them. Both men were arrested months later and Hunt still possessed the gun used to kill the victim. The firearm was wrapped in a bandana that had a small blood stain on it, which provided more DNA evidence linking Gero to the murder.
Defence lawyer James Dawson outlined a common suggestion that could see Hunt be sentenced to an overall nine-year prison term. Dawson said his client is a permanent resident in Canada and that Hunt realizes he could be deported to his country of origin, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, as a result of what he pleaded guilty to. Pennou will decide if he agrees with the sentence on Tuesday. The judge is also scheduled to hear arguments on Gero’s parole eligibility on the same day. Gero received an automatic life sentence when he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.