Detainee denied release from COVID-HIT facility

A man charged with being part of a network that grew marijuana illegally and sold it in Montreal has been denied in his request for a release from the Bordeaux jail based on his fear of the spread of the coronavirus inside the detention centre.

Quebec Superior Court Justice Guy Cournoyer made the decision on Friday, rejecting Johnny Samuel Videz-rauda, 31, in his request to be released from the jail, officially called the Montreal Detention Centre, while he faces 14 charges related to the illegal production of marijuana and possession of a variety of drugs with the intention to sell them. He is also alleged to be part of five drug trafficking conspiracies uncovered by the Montreal police year-long investigation.

A search warrant at his home turned up more than 300 grams of cannabis, 42 grams of hashish, 12 grams of cocaine, as well as ammunition and a loading clip for a 9 mm firearm.

Videz-rauda was arrested with seven other people in November 2018 and, he argued, he has waited long enough for his trial and has likely served the equivalent of any sentence he might end up with. He renounced his right to a bail hearing twice in 2019. But last week, defence lawyers Richard Tawil and Patrick Davis argued Videz-rauda’s situation had changed significantly because little was initially done to prevent the spread of COVID -19 inside the jail.

Carmen Landry, director of services at the province’s largest detention centre, testified that 14 inmates at the jail had tested positive for COVID -19, the first on April 24.

According to the Quebec government’s most recent statistics posted online, 35 detainees or inmates inside the province’s largest detention centre now have COVID-19, and 112 of the men behind bars there have been tested.

“Even if we take it for granted that the COVID-19 pandemic constitutes a significant change of circumstances, Mr. Videz-rauda has not succeeded in convincing the Court that his release is justified,” Cournoyer wrote. “The obligation that is incumbent on the correctional authorities is to show a reasonable diligence by putting in place reasonable measures with the goal of avoiding the transmission and the propagation of the virus.”

Last week, Cournoyer was told that staff at the jail have established a quarantine sector, isolated new arrivals for a period of time and have put in place sanitary measures for staff, inmates and detainees.

Videz-rauda’s case returns to court in July.