Accused pleads to manslaughter

Murder charge dropped in case where Devane Campbell was shot to death in a home invasion

KITCHENER — In a sudden turn of events, Noel Francis pleaded guilty to manslaughter in a Kitchener courtroom Thursday, resulting in the first-degree murder charge being dropped.

The Crown and defence presented the joint submission before Justice Patrick Flynn and the 14-person jury just weeks after the first-degree murder trial began.

“Everything has changed,” Flynn told the jury, explaining that the accused had changed his position and that a new charge was before the court.

In addition to manslaughter, Francis pleaded guilty to intimidating a justice system participant — a jailhouse informant who was to testify at his trial.

The jury was shown a video of Francis in a police van along with the informant when the pair and others were being transported back to Maplehurst Correctional Complex in Milton together after making a court appearance.

In the video, Francis calls the informant a “snitch” and a “rat.”

Francis, 30, of Toronto was arrested on April 30, 2015, in the death of Devane Campbell. He pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.

Campbell, 20, of Brantford, was shot twice during a botched home invasion at housing complex on Elm Ridge Drive in Kitchener on

Nov. 30, 2012.

In an agreed statement of facts, Crown prosecutor Nicole Redgate told the jury that on Nov. 30, 2012, Francis knew about a robbery that was going to take place in Kitchener and encouraged others to “go for it” and told them the robbery would be “easy.”

Redgate said Francis knew that the robbery was dangerous and that violence could occur and that “bodily harm was a foreseeable result.”

Redgate said Campbell was shot and killed in the home invasion.

Before discharging the jury, Flynn thanked them for their service and assured them they played a role in the proceedings.

“This has been a roughpatch trial for you,” said Flynn, referring to the many adjournments leading the jury to be out of court longer than the time they sat to hear evidence.

“This is a tad unusual,” he said.

“Have some relief that you didn’t have to endure this for 12 weeks,” Flynn said. The trial, which started on Oct. 2, was slated for 12 weeks.

Francis returns to court on Friday when he will be sentenced for manslaughter. The court is expected to hear a victim impact statement from Campbell’s mother.

Manslaughter involves an unlawful killing, but no proven intent to kill or cause bodily harm likely to result in death.

After the proceedings, defence lawyer Chris Murphy said the Crown withdrew the first-degree murder charge, and both the Crown and the defence agreed to the new position.

“Ultimately the facts presented (Thursday) were diametrically opposed to the Crown’s theory of the case,” he said.

Murphy said Francis looks forward to having the matter resolved.

“He has taken responsibility for his involvement in this matter,” he said.