No chance of parole for 10 years for man who killed woman’s attacker

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This article was published 20/06/2023 (887 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man convicted of murder after he fatally stabbed a stranger he saw assaulting a woman on the street has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years.

Tre Pelletier-Monkman stood trial last winter and was found guilty of second-degree murder in the June 2021 killing of 32-year-old Adam Laforrest.

The unique circumstances of the killing and Pelletier-Monkman’s prospects for rehabilitation did not justify increasing his period of parole ineligibility from the minimum 10 years, King’s Bench Justice Shauna McCarthy said Monday.

Pelletier-Monkman did not deny killing Laforrest, but argued at trial he should not be held criminally responsible because he was acting in defence of another person and his actions were reasonable in the circumstances.

Carla Duck testified at trial she thought she was going to die after Laforrest threw a can of Snapple at her head and kicked and punched her without provocation as she sat on a sidewalk on Dufferin Avenue.

Pelletier-Monkman told jurors he was with his brother in a van being driven by their grandmother on their way to a pawn shop when he saw Laforrest attack Duck.

Pelletier-Monkman ran toward Laforrest, his knife already in his hand, and “started using it on him,” he testified.

Court heard Pelletier-Monkman stabbed Laforrest four times, including once to the chest.

“It was clear the sole reason for getting out of the car and interacting with Mr. Laforrest was because he had just seen Mr. Laforrest throw a can at Ms. Duck and kick Ms. Duck,” McCarthy said. “There was no evidence Mr. Pelletier-Monkman would have gotten out of his vehicle if that had not occurred.”

At the time of the killing, Pelletier-Monkman was bound by a court order prohibiting him from possessing weapons.

It was open to jurors to find Pelletier-Monkman guilty of manslaughter, but in convicting him of second-degree murder found his actions constituted “an excessive use of force not warranted in the circumstances,” McCarthy said.

“The fact that a knife was used and there was more than one stab wound is the reason Mr. Pelletier-Monkman’s actions were determined to be excessive and he was found to have the intent necessary for a murder conviction,” she said.

Jurors heard evidence Pelletier-Monkman ran back to his vehicle after stabbing Laforrest as the fatally wounded man continued to assault Duck for several seconds.

Pelletier-Monkman’s retreat belied his claim he was concerned about Duck’s safety, Crown attorney Mark Kantor argued in a closing address to jurors in February.

“A woman’s life is in danger here,” Kantor said. “It doesn’t make sense. Tre Pelletier-Monkman is not credible.”

Pelletier-Monkman has a short criminal record, including convictions for assault and drug-dealing. McCarthy said he has shown genuine remorse for stabbing Laforrest and has completed rehabilitative programs in custody while awaiting sentencing.

Defence lawyer Mike Cook said Pelletier-Monkman is considering appealing his murder conviction.

“We thought this was a definite case of defence of another,” Cook said.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca