Old Montreal fire: Two men, 18 and 20, arrested in deadly Oct. 4 blaze

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Montreal police said Friday they have arrested two men, ages 18 and 20, in connection with the early-morning fire that killed two people on Oct. 4. The first was arrested in the borough of St-Laurent and the second in Mercier—Hochelaga—Maisonneuve.

Cmdr. Jean-Sébastien Caron, the head of the major crimes squad, said the 20-year-old is believed to have used an incendiary object to start the fire, and his alleged 18-year-old accomplice drove a getaway vehicle. He said police know what material was used, but would not divulge what it was.

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Police said they are currently discussing what charges will be laid with Quebec’s prosecution service and that the two men will be charged within 24 hours.

“We’ve treated this case as a murder case from the beginning, but, obviously, the decision will be made by the Crown prosecutor. We are working closely with them,” Insp. David Shane said.

Caron said the two men, who are known to police and are linked to organized crime, are currently detained. He said police don’t yet know what the motive may have been or whether the fire is linked to organized crime.

He did not answer questions about whether the fire is linked to an extortion attempt or if others could be arrested.

The Gazette has learned the 20-year-old who was arrested Friday recently served time behind bars for setting fire to a vehicle belonging to someone with ties to the Montreal Mafia.

The victim whose Mustang was damaged by the fire in Laval on April 30, 2023, is described in a court document as having hung out at a café in Montreal with people tied to the Mafia during the summer of 2020.

The same suspect pleaded guilty in January to arson and possessing a prohibited or restricted firearm inside a motor vehicle. He was sentenced to a prison term of more than 18 months, but when time served was factored he was left with nine months to serve.

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Shane said in an afternoon press conference police are trying to identify the “mastermind” behind the arson, but would not reveal more about who that person might be.

“What we know is there is somebody who called the shots,” Caron added.

The investigation is continuing, police say, and officers were conducting searches on Friday.

More than 200 officers have worked on the investigation since last Friday, Shane said.

Police would not divulge the SPVM’s next steps in the investigation.

The five-alarm fire on Oct. 4 took the lives of two French tourists, Léonor Geraudie, 43, and her seven-year-old daughter, Vérane Reynaud-Geraudie. The 23 others inside the building made it out alive, though two were reported to be in critical condition by Montreal police.

Security camera footage obtained by CBC shows a person dressed in black kicking down a door of the building on Notre-Dame and Bonsecours Sts. at 2:33 a.m. The figure is seen running away at 2:34 a.m., followed by black smoke pouring out of the building’s ground floor entrance. 

Montreal’s fire department said they sent 125 firefighters and 50 trucks at the height of the blaze.

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The building, which contained a restaurant and a 20-room hotel, is owned by Montreal defence lawyer Émile Benamor. He also owns the property on Place d’Youville in Old Montreal where seven people died in a fire on March 16, 2023.

Shane said Montreal police have been paying special attention to Benamor’s other buildings in the days following the fire. They indicated Benamor is collaborating well with them on the investigation.

Police say the investigation in that case has been turned over to prosecutors but it is a complex file that will take time to review.

On Tuesday, police arrested three men after shots were fired overnight on Oct. 9 at another building Benamor owns in Old Montreal.

Caron would not confirm whether this incident was connected to the fire last Friday.

The building that was hit by bullets at 808 Berri St. is listed as the office for lawyer Émile Benamor. Benamor owns the building, according to property records.

This report will be updated.

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