Two men have pled guilty to a firearm charge in a 2022 shooting at a local bowling alley.
Andrew Meloche, 24, and Joshua Fryer, 22, both pleaded guilty Friday to “unauthorized possession of firearms or weapons in a motor vehicle”, according to Section 94 of the Criminal Code of Canada.
It’s in relation to a shooting on Saturday, April 9, 2022, out front of a bowling alley on Tecumseh Road East near Forest Glade.
Court learned Friday the five people who were shot suffered wounds to the lower extremities, but all survived.
Incident starts with an altercation
In a sentencing hearing Friday, court learned Fryer and Meloche were together inside the bowling alley that night.
Fryer was “punched from behind” by a patron; he fell to the ground and cut his forehead.
Meloche attempted to help Fryer, but he too was assaulted by a member of the “rival group”, according to court documents.
As a result, the manager of the establishment closed the building and asked all patrons to leave.
Once outside, court learned Fryer got into his pickup truck along with Meloche and two other people. They drove towards the front door of the building.
According to the agreed statement of facts (ASF), “witnesses” heard a passenger in the truck yell for someone “to get their gun and shoot”.
That’s when someone fired a weapon “approximately seven times”, according to the ASF.
Five people – including the person who allegedly assaulted Fryer inside the bowling alley – were shot. They all survived.
A court-ordered publication ban prevents the media from reporting any evidence about who authorities believe was the shooter.
A single victim impact statement was given to Justice Joseph Perfetto in court Friday by Assistant Crown Attorney Bryan Pillon, but it was not read in open court.
Arrests after the fact
Fryer and Meloche were both arrested on April 11th, two days after the shooting.
Meloche was arrested in LaSalle, Fryer in Windsor.
According to the ASF, on April 11th, police noticed smoke from behind the residence of a co-accused in the investigation.
A search of that residence found “burned clothing” the crown says are “consistent” with what Fryer was wearing the night of the shooting.
‘I’m very sorry’
Fryer and Meloche were both permitted to speak to the court Friday.
“I just want to say that I’m very sorry for everything,” Fryer said.
“I definitely learned a lesson from this all. I just want to show my remorse.”
“I just feel very terrible about everything that happened. I can definitely tell you; I’ve learned a lot since that time and I just want you to take that into consideration,” Meloche told the judge.
Fryer was in custody for 30 days; Meloche 45 days before both were granted bail under “strict” conditions according to their lawyers, Bobby DiPietro Jr. and Bobby DiPietro Sr. respectively.
They are asking for a conditional sentence – also known as house arrest – of six to nine months for both offenders.
Pillon told the judge he would have sought a jail sentence for Fryer and Meloche’s were it not for their “early pleas”, age, supportive families, employment upon completion of sentence and respect for bail conditions.
“This (shooting) sent shockwaves through this community because it was a mass shooting,” Pillon said.
Justice Perfetto has reserved his decision until April 11th.
