Man sentenced for ‘senseless’ Victoria murder
Drug-fuelled killer gets 71/2 years for unprovoked attack on Quebec City man
VICTORIA A Victoria man with a long history of drug addiction and violence has been sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison for manslaughter in the death of a 20-year-old Quebec City man.
Raphael Bussieres died after being stabbed in the neck by Justin Carte in the early morning of Nov. 26, 2016. Carte had been released from jail two days earlier and was high on drugs.
The two men, who did not know each other, had been rapping on a downtown sidewalk. When Bussieres and his friends walked to the McDonald’s at the corner of Douglas and View streets, Carte followed. He became physically aggressive toward Bussieres, touching him three times on the shoulder. When Bussieres told him to stop, Carte swung at him, stabbing him in the neck with a knife and severing his carotid artery. Bussieres died two days later in hospital.
“This was a senseless, unprovoked and grave assault that resulted in the death of a young man whose family and friends have been left devastated and in pain,” B.C. Supreme Court Justice Joyce De Witt-Van Oosten said Thursday.
After receiving credit for time spent in pre-trial custody, Carte must serve a sentence of just under six years.
Bussieres’ parents, Stephanie Lachance and Nicolas Bussieres, listened to the proceedings by video from the courthouse in Quebec City. They said the justice system has failed them by allowing Carte, who has 39 convictions including 10 for violence, to cycle from the streets to jail and back again over many years.
“We are in shock,” Lachance said. “The message the courts send to the population is troubling and inconsistent. Justin Carte is a criminal. During his adult life, he always received leniency.
“I don’t think he’ll be rehabilitated in six years. It’s too short … We will analyze the situation and consider all the possibilities available to us. Things must change. Canadians from coast to coast are no longer safe.”
De Witt-Van Oosten said the public needs protection from Carte unless he receives significant treatment. Carte, 28, has no explanation for his actions. He has only a hazy recollection of what happened that morning.
Crown witnesses testified that Carte was very high and appeared to have no control over the drugs he had consumed. After stabbing Bussieres, he walked away without trying to help. Carte went to West Coast Waffles on Broad Street and can be seen on a video flailing and jerking around the restaurant, pouring maple syrup in his drink. Although Carte was clearly under the influence of drugs, he was still aware of his surroundings and able to respond to questions, the judge noted.
Carte was arrested around 2 a.m. He was still impaired by drugs when he was taken to hospital, then to the Victoria police station, where he kept falling asleep.
The court heard that Carte was a productive and thoughtful child and did well until the age of 17, when he began taking drugs. Family members, who have come to court to support him, feel hopeless in their ability to help him, said the judge. Carte has also been resistant to treatment for his drug problem.
De Witt-Van Oosten found an aggravating factor was that Carte has an extensive background for violent offences, was on probation at the time he killed Bussieres and that the attack was unprovoked. Bussieres had no opportunity to defend himself or distance himself from Carte and had no way of anticipating the violence.
Through his involvement in the criminal justice system and medical professionals, Carte would know the risks associated with his continued drug use, she said.
“He chose to put himself in a position where he presented a danger to others. … His moral blameworthiness is significant. He consciously put himself in a situation where violence was not only possible, but likely.”
De Witt-Van Oosten found mitigating factors in Carte being young and having the support of his family and friends, who hope he will make every effort at rehabilitation. Also mitigating is his distress about the harm he has caused.
Carte has come to realize he needs to change. Although he expressed interest in Victoria’s integrated court, which tries to help people suffering from drug addiction, the last time he was released from jail, he was handed a social assistance cheque and turned immediately to drugs.
He has expressed a desire to seek treatment, has expressed remorse and apologized to the Bussieres family, the judge said. “He realizes the terribleness of what he has done.”
The message the courts send to the population is troubling and inconsistent. Justin Carte is a criminal. During his adult life, he always received leniency.