Pubdate: Mon, 25 May 2015
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2015 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Colin Perkel
Page: A12

CANADIAN DIPLOMAT'S SON TO SEEK BAIL IN FLORIDA

A Canadian teenager caught up in a double killing in Florida will ask 
a judge on Wednesday to grant him bail pending a trial that could 
lead to his life-long imprisonment.

Marc Wabafiyebazu has pleaded not guilty to felony first degree 
murder and other charges in a drug-related shootout in March that 
left his 17-year-old brother, Jean Wabafiyebazu, dead.

Court documents filed in support of the bail application argue that 
Marc Wabafiyebazu, son of a senior Canadian diplomat, was simply in 
the wrong place at the wrong time.

"This highly publicized case involved a 15-year-old boy who did 
nothing more than sit in a car while his brother made a series of bad 
decisions which cost him his life," lawyer Michael Corey writes.

"Marc is a child and deserves to be treated as such."

Given the seriousness of the charges for which he is to be tried as 
an adult, bail would normally be off-limits, but the teen will 
nevertheless press for interim release at Wednesday's so called 
"Arthur" hearing.

Such a hearing resembles a mini-trial in which both sides will 
present substantial amounts of information, said Ed Griffith, with 
the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office.

To win bail, the defence will have to convince the judge that the 
prosecutor does not have enough evidence to prove Marc's guilt, and 
that he poses neither a danger to the community nor a flight risk.

The shootout occurred just weeks after the brothers moved from their 
father's home in Ottawa to live with their mother, Roxanne Dube, 
appointed Canadian consul-general in Miami in November.

According to police, the elder brother drove them in their mother's 
BMW, which had diplomatic plates, to an apartment to buy about 800 
grams of marijuana. They allegedly planned to rip off the dealer but 
something went wrong and gunfire erupted.

Police say Jean Wabafiyebazu and Joshua Wright, also 17, shot each 
other dead and that Marc Wabafiyebazu shot and wounded Anthony Rodriguez, 19.

However, Mr. Corey says surveillance video shows the accused brother 
stayed in the passenger seat of the car while his sibling went 
inside, and followed only after hearing the shots.

As such, Mr. Corey argues, there are no grounds to find Marc guilty 
because the felony conviction under Florida law would require his 
active involvement in his brother's alleged botched armed robbery of 
the drug dealer.

Mr. Corey also argues in his filings that the "passive" younger 
sibling fell under the negative influence of his older brother - one 
of the few people he knew in the city - but never took part in his 
alleged criminal acts.

Police documents obtained by The Canadian Press show Marc told 
investigators the brothers had pulled similar stunts in Canada, and 
that he was brandishing a handgun when arrested outside the residence.

They also say he threatened to shoot an officer in the head after his arrest.

Mr. Corey, however, said police failed to advise the teen of his 
rights, and called his purported statements "highly suspect" and 
inadmissible as evidence.

Circuit Judge Richard Hersch has set a tentative July 20 trial date.

Mr. Rodriguez and another man, Johann Ruiz-Perez, 21, have also 
pleaded not guilty to felony murder charges in the case.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom