Man admits he threatened to shoot, kill girlfriend

Friend of murder suspect admits to death threat

An Ottawa man who threatened to kill his girlfriend and confined her after his friend shot and killed a stranger the night before Christmas Eve has pleaded guilty to his crimes.

Sebastien Lafleur pleaded guilty Tuesday to threatening to shoot his girlfriend dead, confining her, possessing a rifle while banned from possessing any weapons and using that rifle while uttering threats.

Lafleur planned to spend the night of Dec. 22, 2017, drinking and playing video games at his apartment with a 15-year-old friend, according to a set of agreed facts read out in court.

By morning, Lafleur was taken from the apartment in handcuffs and the friend, whose identity is shielded by a publication ban, was charged with first-degree murder.

The teen made his way to Lafleur’s apartment and showed Lafleur, while riding an OC Transpo bus, that he was carrying a sawed-off rifle.

Lafleur’s girlfriend eventually joined the two at his apartment, where Lafleur and the teen continued to drink and snorted lines of cocaine.

Around 11:30 p.m., the teen said he was going to the corner store, then pulled out his rifle and said he was going to rob it. He came back just after midnight and said the store was closed. Lafleur teased him.

Sometime around 2:30 a.m., the teen became fixated on a white car outside of Lafleur’s apartment that he thought had been parked for too long. He went outside, armed with his rifle, approached Keith Fitzsimmons, who happened to be walking on Frèchette Street, demanded he turn over any money he had and threatened to shoot him.

The teen shot Fitzsimmons once in the back. The bullet severed Fitzsimmons’ aorta. A woman with Fitzsimmons told the teen she was calling the police. The teen went back to the apartment and told Lafleur and his girlfriend what happened.

Lafleur suggested bleaching the gun to get rid of fingerprints.

As the group was trying to figure out what to do, Lafleur told his girlfriend to keep her mouth shut or he’d shoot her. He later told the teen to cut up whatever marijuana was left in their burned out roaches so they could smoke it.

Lafleur’s girlfriend began texting her father for help.

Police soon surrounded the apartment, eventually breaching the door and taking all three into custody. Fitzsimmons was found on the street by police and taken to a trauma centre, where he died. His death was the 15th and final homicide in Ottawa in 2017.

The teen awaits trial for firstdegree murder. Lafleur has yet to be sentenced.