Probation cited in fatal crash

JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES Enlarge Image

Antonio Lanzellotti (right) was killed in his taxi in March 2008 at the corner of Portage Avenue and Maryland Street.

Manitoba probation officials admit they repeatedly overlooked breaches of court orders from a 14-year-old high-risk car thief in the weeks before he got behind the wheel of a speeding, stolen SUV and killed a city cab driver.

The admission came Tuesday at a sentencing hearing for the boy, who pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death and bodily harm for his role in the March 2008 crash that killed Antonio Lanzellotti.

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Antonio Lanzellotti

"Probation services gave him enough rope to hang himself," Crown attorney Brent Davidson told court. "If he had just listened to what the court told him to do, Antonio Lanzellotti would still be alive."

The Crown is seeking an adult sentence against the teen, who comes from a prominent family of criminals with strong ties to the Mad Cowz street gangs. They have requested another 23 months of jail, in addition to just over two years of time already spent in custody they concede should be given double-time credit. On paper, it would be noted as a six-year sentence.

The teen -- who is now 16 and can't be named unless an adult sentence is imposed -- is asking to remain in youth court and be given eight more months behind bars. Queen's Bench Justice Lea Duval has reserved her decision.

Cheryl Dyck, who served as the boy's probation officer, testified Tuesday how the teen was originally sentenced on Feb. 8, 2008 on charges including car theft, drug offences and numerous breaches of court orders. The boy was given probation and placed on the most stringent youth criminal supervision program in Manitoba. His conditions included abstaining from alcohol and a nightly 10 p.m. curfew.

Dyck admits her department caught the teen violating his curfew on several occasions but never reported the incidents to police, who could have arrested him and detained him in custody on new charges. Instead, they upgraded his status to "high-risk" but allowed him to remain free in the community. Dyck said it's not uncommon to ignore initial violations of young offenders.

"Once a pattern of non-compliance is established then we breach the client," she testified.

On the night of March 29, 2008, the boy had been drinking and consuming drugs with a large group of youths loitering around a downtown apartment building armed with two stolen vehicles. The group scattered when they saw police headed their way.

The boy was driving a Chevy Avalanche containing six other young offenders. He began racing a stolen Silverado that had the other seven youths, court was told. The boy reached speeds of 139 km/h -- the legal limit is 60 km/h -- and blew through two red lights on Portage Avenue before slamming into the taxi being driven by Lanzellotti at the corner of Portage and Maryland Street.

Lanzellotti, 55, died instantly. He suffered a massive skull fracture, broken ribs and legs and trauma to his brain and chest. A passenger in the cab was seriously injured.

The boy was ejected from the SUV and seriously injured. He initially denied any responsibility, telling police he was innocently walking down the street when he was struck by flying debris. He later admitted to being in the car but claimed another youth was driving. Police got him to admit the truth when DNA off the driver's side airbag was a perfect match to him. The Crown agreed to drop a manslaughter charge in exchange for his guilty plea.

Dyck told court the boy has made great progress during his two years in youth custody but remains a medium risk to reoffend. She said his biggest obstacle is his own criminally entrenched family, although several relatives have since been deported to Africa.

"He has the ability, we believe, to learn from what happened and benefit from what we're teaching him," said Dyck. "I think he's way better equipped now to deal with the issue he's going to face when he gets out."

The Crown supports having the boy serve the rest of his adult sentence in a youth facility because of the various treatment and programming options available to him. But Davidson said the limits of a youth sentence don't express strong enough condemnation for the crime he committed.

City police Det.-Sgt. Kevin Kavitch testified Tuesday about the high rate of car theft in Winnipeg at the time of Lanzellotti's death. He provided statistics showing the vast majority of offenders are youths who deliberately try to engage police in high-speed chase, putting all on the road in danger. Kavitch said between Jan. 1, 2006 and the day Lanzellotti died, police in the stolen auto unit arrested 519 people, of whom 417 were young offenders.

www.mikeoncrime.com

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 21, 2010 B1