THREE Winnipeg men have admitted to plotting the shooting of a criminal rival, only to have their plans overheard by police and stopped just in time.
Randeep Dhanjoon, 35, Eldrine Monton, 24, and Brian Bautista, 29, pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy to assault and cause bodily harm stemming from an unusual October 2008 incident. The Crown dropped a more serious charge of conspiracy to commit murder, saying the prosecution couldn't prove the trio actually had the intention to kill.
Monton and Bautista were given the equivalent of two years' time in custody. Dhanjoon's sentencing has been adjourned until later this spring.
The accused were among numerous targets in a massive ongoing commercial crime investigation and were secretly recorded and monitored through phone wiretaps and bugs planted in several vehicles, court was told. Police intercepted a conversation in which they discussed going after a man who had allegedly ripped them off in a drug deal.
The men discussed obtaining a gun earlier that day, how to properly load it, and were headed to a McPhillips Street nightclub where they believed they would find the man they were seeking. Police immediately moved in and stopped the vehicle, detaining the accused. No weapon was found after a search.
Police were never able to identify the man they were planning to shoot.
This article is biased as it fails to state or mention any mitigating factors of the background lives of these three men or any arguments or statements from defence lawyers. It is biased towards the Crown's side.
I disagree with the 2 year sentence, as I feel it will do nothing to help these men become better citizens. They will likely only become more involved in drugs and gangs through prison, and will not learn any life skills or be rehabilitated. Also, none of the possible underlying factors contributing to their criminal behaviour, will be addressed in prison which is dangerous.
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