THUNDER BAY — A Kingston, Ont., man has been found not guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Antoine Bouchard.
Joshua Leblanc did shoot Bouchard but he was acting in self-defence, said justice W. Danial Newton on Wednesday at the Thunder Bay courthouse.
“He was convinced the intruders were going to kill him,” said Newton.
Leblanc, 31, pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder in April of this year.
The evidence in the case was subject to a publication ban prior to the ruling. Newton included a summary of events in reading out his decision to the court during the hybrid virtual and in-person hearing.
Thunder Bay police reported to a potential sudden death call at a residential address in the 300 block of Bethune Street just after noon on Wednesday, Jan. 26. In 2022, where Bouchard, 37, was found deceased. He had been shot twice.
A witness in the trial, who was living with his girlfriend on Bethune Street at the time, he made an agreement with out-of-town drug dealers, allowing them to sell out of his apartment.
Shortly after, the witness, Bouchard and two other individuals equipped themselves with a variety of face coverings and left in search of drugs and money at Leblanc’s apartment.
Upon entering Leblanc’s apartment, Bouchard rushed past the witness and continued straight towards the living area. The witness then entered the bedroom and heard several gunshots being fired. Upon exiting, he found Bouchard deceased on the stairs.
Bouchard’s body was then moved from the stairs to the basement.
Police were unsure of who shot had Bouchard and searched for DNA samples at the scene of the crime. They found samples that matched Leblanc.
He was arrested in Kingston on March 30, 2022, two months after Bouchard was found deceased.
Leblanc admitted previously in court that he did shoot at Bouchard and said he was acting in self-defence.
The judge said there is no question that Bouchard died of a gunshot wound and that he was shot twice. Additionally, a knife was found at the scene.
Newton ruled that Leblanc did make the decision to shoot in self-defence, saying there was no route he could have taken to safety that would have avoided Bouchard.
"Mr. Leblanc, you're free to go," said Newton at the conclusion of his ruling, prompting one person attending online to shout profanities before the call was shut down.
