The man who allegedly stole a car with a baby on board before abandoning it on the sidewalk earlier this week is a repeat crack addict who suffers from severe mental illness and has committed 70 crimes in the last decade.
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“Only detention can really control the significant risk that the accused currently presents,” indicated last September the Commission for the Examination of Mental Disorders, after examining the case of Gregory Pierre Paul.
Except that at the same time, the organization gave carte blanche to those responsible for the hospital where he resided in order to offer him leave, alone and without supervision, until the fall of 2024.
And clearly, Pierre Paul took advantage of one of them to commit a new crime, which now means he is subject to an arrest warrant.
It is that last Tuesday, early in the morning, the 43-year-old man allegedly stole a white Mazda 3 from a mother who was going to daycare with her two children. Except that when he got into the car, he did not notice that a seven-month-old baby was in the back seat.
MAXIME DELAND/AGENCE QMI
Career criminal
During his escape, the suspect then abandoned the baby on the side of the sidewalk.
“He exposed a baby in such a way that his life was endangered,” the arrest warrant reads.
Photo Agence QMI, MAXIME DELAND
Pierre Paul then continued his flight, driving into a concrete wall and then causing a collision. He then took off on foot.
The police quickly launched an investigation and quickly, eyes turned to Pierre Paul, who has been collecting criminal charges for 10 years. There are numerous thefts, but also conspiracy, breaches of conditions, and even drug possession. He had already had a Canada Post truck stolen.
“The majority of events […] are thefts committed in the context of manic episodes with psychotic characteristics,” the Commission said.
Social reintegration not successful
His treating psychiatrist was also concerned about “multiple histories of violent acts” combined with his addiction to crack and his “limited self-criticism”. Despite everything, he recommended the release of the criminal for “therapeutic reasons” and to “promote social reintegration”.
Pierre Paul had for his part affirmed that he was “able to pull himself together by [ses] own means”. Which he doesn’t seem to have done.
As soon as the police have found him, Pierre Paul will have to appear in criminal court. The court will then have to examine whether, once again, the accused should be declared not criminally responsible for the crimes with which he is charged.
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