"GRE shooter gets six years"

BRANTFORD - An Akwesasne man has been sentenced to six years in prison for firing shots at a guard building at Grand River Enterprises (G.R.E.) earlier this year.

A Brantford judge sentenced Jeremy Maracle, 33, to six years less time served during a sentencing last week. Maracle has been in custody for 10 months and will serve another five years and two months after being found guilty in the February 2012 shooting.

Ontario Court Justice Robert Gee in sentencing Maracle said Maracle had created "an extraordinarily dangerous situation. It's only pure chance that no one was injured or killed."

Maracle had pulled up to the guard house at G.R.E.'s headquarters on Chiefswood Road at about 1 p.m. on Feb. 23.

He drove up to the guard house and asked to see one of the company owners. The guard checked "and saw no appointments for the given time. Maracle was told he could not enter the property.

Maracle became angry and spouted "Ask him where the (*********) money comes from." The security guard wrote down the licence plate number but he testified earlier it was muddy and obscured.

About 10 minutes later the dark-coloured vehicle returned stopping near the roadway. Maracle began yelling obscenities reached out of the window with a weapon and began firing five to eight shots toward the guard house.

A security guard and transport truck driver exiting the property both ducked to escape the blasts.

One of the shots hit the guard house. Police found three other bullets lodged in buildings at the loading dock and at the back of the property.

The guard called 911. One witness, a young woman walking along the roadway, said the car pulled up and a man opened his window, yelling, "I'm gonna f****** shoot Jerry Montour." Montour is the CEO of Grand River Enterprises and had left the building earlier that day. Maracle, after firing the shots, sped off down Chiefswood Road toward Third Line.

Court was told an OPP officer near Mount Pleasant heading towards Six Nations on Greenfield Road saw three vehicles driving in the opposite direction one was a black sedan with a similar license plate.The officer turned around and a chase of about one kilometre ensued with lights and sirens. The black car braked and pulled over.

The officer exited his cruiser with a rifle prepared for a high risk take down court was told.

He aimed the rifle and ordered the driver out of the car. Maracle got out and laid face down on the ground. The officer approached and saw a loaded handgun magazine in the vehicle. No weapon was ever found.

Court was told Maracle discarded the weapon but he did not know where.

OPP, the OPP canine unit, and Six Nations Police combed a bush area near Fawcett Road looking for it.

Maracle had been charged with attempted murder, possession of a weapon, and pointing a weapon. Police said while Maracle was being arrested he remarked, "I would have shot him if I could."

Police found in the car a loaded magazine, six boxes of 9 mm ammunition and two empty shell casings.

In the trunk were a knapsack, a change of clothing, a shaving kit, black jacket and gloves. No gun was found.

During his trial earlier this year, attempted murder charges were dropped because the Crown could not provide sufficient evidence to convict him on that charge.

Gee said then there was sufficient "circumstantial evidence" to convict Maracle but that the Crown's evidence did not prove attempted murder or intent to murder. Charges related to the handgun were dismissed when the weapon was never found.

Maracle's lawyer, Gary Chayko, said there was no discussion of a motive during the trial. He said the minimum penalty for recklessly discharging a firearm is four years but the judge had decided to go higher with sentencing because Maracle had deliberately planned the attack, during which he unloaded an estimated five to eight rounds.

The maximum sentence for the crime is 14 years, but Chayko said that sentence is only reserved for the worst offenders and the worst offenses, saying for example, if a shooter fired into a crowd of people and one of them was injured, that would most likely warrant the maximum penalty. Court heard the guard at the shack was not injured during the incident.

A Gladue report was taken into account during the sentencing, said Chayko.

"Mr. Maracle declined to cooperate a great deal with the Gladue report preparation and very little information was gained about his aboriginal heritage."

Chayko said Maracle will be transferred to a processing facility near Kingston to determine the appropriate location and conditions of his imprisonment.