Manslaughter convictions net killer 30 years in prison

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/06/2023 (863 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg man who’s serving an 18-year prison sentence for killing a stranger has been sentenced to another 12 years in custody for a second slaying just two weeks earlier.

Thunder Fontaine, 23, stood trial earlier this year for the shooting death of 40-year-old Angus John Maple at his Mountain Avenue apartment in November 2021.

Fontaine, who along with a co-accused was charged with second-degree murder, admitted involvement in the killing but argued he should be convicted of the lesser offence of manslaughter.

King’s Bench Justice Sadie Bond found Fontaine guilty of manslaughter and on Wednesday agreed to a 12-year sentence jointly recommended by Crown and defence lawyers.

“An approximately 30-year sentence for two serious manslaughters committed in highly aggravating circumstances will be fit and appropriate,” said Crown attorney Vuk Mitrovic.

According to an agreed statement of facts previously provided to court, Fontaine and a male co-accused entered Maple’s suite shortly before 7 p.m. armed with a gun and an electrical shock device. He told a woman inside to reposition a security camera so it would not capture their faces.

One hour later, Maple was shot and Fontaine and the co-accused filled a bag with his belongings. The two men asked the woman, who was the mother of Fontaine’s children, where they could find Maple’s gun. When the gun wasn’t located where the woman said it was, Fontaine shocked her in the neck.

In a police interview following his arrest nearly two months later, Fontaine said the shooting was motivated by a gang dispute and that Maple had been disrespecting his co-accused.

Fontaine said he was supposed to be the “trigger man” but after arriving at Maple’s apartment, he handed the gun to his co-accused.

Court was told Fontaine has fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and has been assessed as a vulnerable person with cognitive functioning equal to that of a six- to 10-year-old.

Fontaine had an unstable upbringing, and by age 14 became entrenched in gang life, said his lawyer, Joshua Rogala. He later fell into drug addiction, using meth daily, Rogala said.

“It’s not difficult to imagine how these circumstances would contribute to bringing Mr. Fontaine before the court facing serious charges,” Bond said.

The judge urged Fontaine to take advantage of rehabilitative programming in custody.

“You could do better, I think you know that,” Bond said. “You have a long road ahead of you before you are going to get an opportunity to do that on the outside. In the meantime, you can do that on the inside.”

Co-accused Timothy Lecoy-Maple is set to stand trial on a charge of second-degree murder next fall.

In April, Fontaine and another man, Alex Genaille, were sentenced to 20 years in prison for the Dec. 9, 2021, killing of 35-year-old Anthony Sinclair.

Sinclair, a father of six, was riding his bike on Stella Avenue near McGregor Street, on his way to a corner store to pick up a bottle of Pepsi when he crossed paths with Genaille and Fontaine, who were armed with a loaded shotgun and rifle.

An agreed statement of facts provided to court said Genaille “misidentified” Sinclair as a man who had mistreated Genaille’s girlfriend.

Genaille pulled out a rifle and shot Sinclair once in the back. After Sinclair fell to the ground, Fontaine pulled out his shotgun and fired one shot into the defenceless man’s abdomen. Genaille and Fontaine then walked away.

Genaille and Fontaine were set to stand trial for second-degree murder last November, but in a plea bargain, he admitted to manslaughter.

Had the case gone to trial, jurors would have had to wrestle with the question of whether the men had the necessary intent to commit murder, Crown attorney Brent Davidson told Bond at their sentencing hearing.

Like Fontaine, Genaille has cognitive deficits and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, and both had consumed drugs and alcohol prior to the killing.

Fontaine and Genaille received credit for time served, reducing their remaining sentences to approximately 18 years.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca