Montreal

Youth sentenced as an adult in 2022 killing of Montreal teen

Amir Benayad was fatally shot in the chest on the evening of Jan. 13, 2022, near the intersection of Rivard and Roy streets. Philippe Orbegoso-Picard, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter last October, received an adult sentence Friday.

Philippe Orbegoso-Picard sentenced to six and a half years

Teenage boy wearing grey sweater and a surgical mask
Amir Benayad died at 17-years-old after he was shot in the chest in an alley in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough on Jan. 13, 2022, during a dispute. (Instagram)

One of the two youths who pleaded guilty to killing 17-year-old Amir Benayad in Montreal's Plateau-Mont-Royal borough in 2022 has been sentenced as an adult to six and a half years in prison.

With time served, Philippe Orbegoso-Picard now has a prison term of just over four years.

He was 17 when he and another teenager were originally charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of Benayad.

Benayad was shot in the chest on the evening of Jan. 13, 2022, near the intersection of Rivard and Roy streets. The incident occurred during a dispute between two groups of teenagers. 

Orbegoso-Picard's defence lawyer James Dawson said conflicts between the two groups began almost four years ago.

"The source of the problem was neither my client nor the victim. But it spread between friends," he said. 

The two accused pleaded guilty to manslaughter last October.

They could not be identified at the time because they were minors, but we can now name Orbegoso-Picard because he agreed to an adult sentence.

The defence had asked for a four year sentence while the Crown had argued for six beginning Friday.

Dawson said he was satisfied with the sentence, adding that Orbegoso-Picard has undergone rehabilitation and was able to express his remorse in court in front of Benayad's family.

Crown prosecutor Louis-David Bénard told reporters outside the courtroom Friday that the sentence sends a message. 

"When we use firearms, when we walk around with firearms, even if we're a minor, there are consequences," he said. "In these circumstances, the accessibility to firearms had disastrous consequences."

With files from Shuyee Lee & Radio-Canada