Closing submissions underway in nightclub shooting trial

Closing arguments were heard on Tuesday in a downtown nightclub shooting that hurt one man. CTV Windsor’s Bob Bellacicco has more.

Closing submissions got underway in a Windsor courtroom Tuesday, almost three years after the shooting of an American outside of a downtown nightclub that left one man injured.

Assistant Crown attorney Emile Carrington told jurors early on in his closing submission that the case comes down to two questions: Who pulled the trigger and who helped make it happen?

He said the jury can rely on eyewitnesses because it’s confirmed in video and pictures multiple times.

The Crown argued that evidence shows beyond a reasonable doubt that Ezechiel Thompson, 23, one of the accused, shot and hurt Raphell Holland, the victim, outside of a bar in May 2023.

Jurors must decide if Thompson is guilty of discharging a firearm and assault.

The Crown said there is a ‘powerful direct evidence of the shooting,’ which includes surveillance video catching part of the incident on camera and testimony from three eyewitnesses who identified Thompson as the shooter.

Prosecutors argued that Silbert Caron, 26, is also criminally responsible in the case, alleging he either encouraged the shooting or helped make it happen.

On Tuesday, Carrington walked jurors through eyewitness video of the fight frame-by-frame. One second into the video, Caron can reportedly be seen throwing a punch during the melee.

Eleven seconds later, he was taken to the ground by Holland. The Crown believes that could be a motive to retaliate.

Surveillance video from further up the street shows the exact moment the gun was shot, towards Holland before Thompson is seen running north on Ouellette Avenue.

The same video - the crown alleges - shows Caron going up to Holland and kicking him while he lay injured on the ground.

Defense lawyers Alexandra Cardella and Patricia Brown are due to begin their submissions on Wednesday.

The jury will deliberate their verdict after the judge instructs them on the law.