The man accused of having hit and killed security guard Philippe Jean in the parking lot of a Walmart in Sherbrooke in the middle of a pandemic was finally acquitted across the board, Friday morning, at the Sherbrooke courthouse. Nacime Kouddar left the courtroom free as air, more than 4 years after the tragic event.
• Read also: Fatal collision at Walmart: Nacime Kouddar acquitted
Kouddar was charged with involuntary manslaughter, dangerous driving causing death and fatal hit-and-run. As she had announced on Thursday during the first part of the reading of her decision, Judge Hélène Fabi confirmed on Friday that she believed the accused’s version. She accepted the theory of self-defense that Kouddar and his lawyer had presented during the trial, held last February.
Remember that Nacime Kouddar and security guard Philippe Jean argued about the health measures in place that day at the Walmart in the Fleurimont sector. At the end of this argument and as Kouddar was preparing to leave the parking lot by car with his partner, the security guard ran towards his car and stormed off to block the accused’s path. He had just been insulted by Kouddar who had lowered his window and walked past him.
The scene, captured by a surveillance camera, ends with Kouddar’s vehicle hitting the victim, who had gotten out of her vehicle, before leaving the camera frame. However, Judge Fabi ruled yesterday: it was the security guard who “jumped” on Nacime Kouddar’s hood and who “wanted to fight.” A reasonable person “would have acted in the same way [que Kouddar] “, the judge read in particular.
Let us recall that it was Philippe Jean’s fall from the vehicle that caused his death. He died four months after the event.
The victim’s relatives, who attended the legal proceedings, including the trial, were not present at the courthouse on Thursday and Friday.
More details to come…
