Closing arguments begin in London bush party homicide trial

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The only question facing the jury at Carlos Guerra Guerra’s second-degree murder trial is whether the aspiring rapper brought a loaded handgun to a bush party to intentionally use it or whether he was acting in self-defence when he fatally shot Josue Silva.

On Monday, after a two-week break, the Superior Court jury returned to the London courthouse to start the closing stages of the lengthy trial and hear the final pitches from Guerra Guerra’s defence lawyer and the Crown.

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“Mr. Silva’s death in this case was an avoidable tragedy – a tragedy for sure – but it was not murder. It took place in self-defence,” Ricardo Golec, Guerra Guerra’s defence lawyer, repeated several times during his 90-minute closing address.

But assistant Crown attorney Jennifer Moser said the jury should have no troubling finding Guerra Guerra’s explanation “incredible, unbelievable and completely fabricated when it came to his mindset that night and his intentions.”

“This theory of the defence has no basis in the truth of what happened on July 31, 2021, in the woods at a teenager’s birthday celebration,” she said.

Guerra Guerra, 23, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Silva, 18, and assault with a weapon of Logan Marshall, 22, in the early morning of July 31, 2021, at a southwest London bush party attended by more than 150 young people.

The catalyst for the shooting was an argument over unwanted videos and a spilled drink between Emily Altmann, 22, and her friends and a large number of people at the party, including Marshall, Silva and their friends.

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After they were told to leave, Altmann contacted Guerra Guerra for help, telling him she was in immediate danger of being jumped by a group of 10 young men. Guerra Guerra showed up masked with his friend Dylan Schaap, and two women. All of them went back into the party where there was a confrontation along a path and Silva was shot by Guerra Guerra.

The trial began in mid-October with two defendants. But in late November, the jury was told that Altmann had been excused and it was not to speculate as to why. The jury has also heard that Schaap, 23, was also charged in the case and has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and assault with a weapon.

Guerra Guerra testified at the trial, which meant that Golec was first to address the jury. Guerra Guerra claimed that he and Schaap were confronted by a group of young men along the darkened path. He said he was jumped by two men and ended up in a tussle with Silva and, while he was on the ground, Silva was standing over him with the machete in his hand at his side. Guerra Guerra said he feared Silva was about to hit him with it.

Guerra Guerra testified he had the loaded handgun that he said he was going to use as a prop for a promotional video of his rap music. He said he had never fired a gun before and “he certainly had never shot someone before.”

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“He was terrified,” Golec said. “And that’s when the tragedy happened. Carlos pulled out the gun aimed it in Mr. Silva’s direction, looked away and fired. His intention was only to scare him away and get away himself. His intention was not to kill him.”

Golec portrayed Guerra Guerra as “a 20-year-old in fear, desperation and panic” after the shooting, too frightened to tell the police he had acted in self-defence and scared about what would happen to him.

He called the Crown’s case “a wheelbarrow of bad evidence” and said the Crown has failed to prove its case. “Carlos has actually proven his innocence beyond a shadow of a doubt,” Golec said.

He acknowledged how “heart-breaking” it has been for Silva’s family who have been in court to hear the evidence. “The reality is there is no happy ending in this case, but there is a just one. It’s in your hands. Your decision can’t bring Mr. Silva back but you can send Carlos home to his family where he belongs.”

But Moser told the jury that the defence theory is “utterly preposterous” and certainly doesn’t track with the evidence of scores of witnesses who were at the party.

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The defence wants the jury to believe that Silva, Marshall and their close-knit group of friends were looking for a fight that night, when the reality was that the party was one of the first times in months during the COVID-19 crisis that the young friends were able to hang out together and celebrate a friend’s birthday.

“It was beautiful summer evening…. A big party like this was finally a time to let loose and have fun,” Moser said.

The defence, she said, was attempting  “flip the script” and place blame on Silva, Marshall and their friends, despite an avalanche of evidence to the contrary.

“Josue Silva and Logan Marshall did not know Mr. Guerra Guerra or Dylan Schaap even existed. But Mr. Guerra Guerra and Dylan Schaap definitely wanted to find out who they were when they arrived at this party,” she said.

Moser asked the jury to focus their attention on Guerra Guerra and Schaap. She reminded jurors that Guerra Guerra “didn’t have an innocent explanation, if there is such a thing, for driving around London with a loaded gun in his sidebag.”

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Moser reminded the jury of Guerra Guerra’s shaky testimony and her effective cross-examination that tore large holes in his story that he had the gun for rap music videos to prove his authenticity. The reality was that he had the gun and was willing to use it.

Unlike Silva and Marshall who were out for a night of fun with old friends, Moser said the only reason Guerra Guerra  drove across the city to the bush party was because of Altmann’s request. “The evidence shows he needed no convincing.… The evidence shows us this beyond any scintilla of a doubt,” she said.

“(They ) are the only two in this equation of four men who attended the bush with violence on their minds…. These were the two men who entered the bush to hunt for their prey, not have a good time. That is the real and tragic story that this trial is all about,” she said.

Moser then began a painstaking review of the mountain of evidence that has been presented over the past 10 weeks. The picture emerging, she said, was of a group of frightened teens cowering in the bush to hide from armed strangers and Guerra Guerra itching to use the gun.

She called Guerra Guerra “an incredible or unbelievable witness” more than willing to lie in front of the jury. He also went to great lengths to cover his tracks after shooting Silva, threatening young witnesses and making sure everyone kept their stories straight.

Moser spent more than three hours piecing together the Crown’s case and indicated she still had a lot of evidence to review with the jury.

She will continue her closing argument Tuesday and Superior Court Justice Patricia Moore will begin her charge to the jury.

jsims@postmedia.com

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