Man shot in head during exchange with police now fit to stand trial
A man who was shot in the head when he is alleged to have exchanged gunfire with police on New Year’s Eve two years ago has recovered to a point where he is now fit to stand trial.
Lindel Darling, 26, of VaudreuilDorion, appeared before Quebec Court Judge Dennis Galiatsatos on Friday for what was scheduled to be his bail hearing at the Montreal courthouse. Instead, Darling renounced his right to a bail hearing in several criminal cases that are pending against him in Montreal and at the Longueuil courthouse. That includes the case involving the New Year’s Eve shooting in which he is charged with being in possession of a restricted weapon and with pointing a firearm at another person on the day he was shot.
In April 2017, he was declared unfit to stand trial after he underwent a court-ordered mentalhealth evaluation. His lawyer at the time told the Montreal Gazette that Darling had difficulty understanding and had no memory of the shooting. Based on the evaluation, he was ordered to remain detained at a hospital while awaiting further evaluation. He has since been declared fit to stand trial and was transferred to a provincial detention facility earlier this year.
During the brief hearing on Friday, he appeared to be somewhat confused, but responded to questions from Galiatsatos when the judge made sure the accused understood that by renouncing his right to a bail hearing he will remain detained until all of his cases are resolved.
The case involving the New Year’s Eve shooting at the end of 2016 returns to court in December.
At the time he was shot, Darling was on probation as part of a sentence he received on Dec. 10, 2014, after having pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated assault. Darling admitted to having fired a shot that injured three people during a Halloween party at a house in Hudson on Oct. 31, 2010.
Earlier this year, the Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales announced that no police officers involved in the New Year’s Eve shooting would be charged with any wrongdoing.
The decision was based on an investigation done by the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes, the team that investigates incidents in which people are killed or seriously wounded during police interventions.