Philistin (Crazy) Paul, 32, alleged by police to be a leader among the Red-affiliated gangs in northern Montreal, was convicted earlier this year of discharging a firearm with intent to injure someone.

Philistin (Crazy) Paul, 32, alleged by police to be a leader among the Red-affiliated gangs in northern Montreal, was convicted earlier this year of discharging a firearm with intent to injure someone. In the same decision, Quebec Court Judge Jean-Paul Braun acquitted Paul on a charge alleging he tried to kill Beauvoir Jean, a former street-gang leader who now works as a social worker and instructs youth on how to avoid ending up in a gang. In what turned out to be a complicated trial, Braun found there was not enough evidence to prove Paul tried to kill Jean. But the judge did determine Paul was reckless in firing off a revolver in broad daylight while several other people were standing nearby.

On June 4, 2010, Paul and Jean were arguing outside a strip mall in Montreal North on Pascal St. when the former fired the revolver. Paul then shot himself in the thigh while trying to flee in his brother's sport utility vehicle and was arrested at a nearby hospital. Jean later told police that during the argument Paul claimed he was now "the boss" of Montreal North because reputed street-gang leader Chenier (Big) Dupuy was, at the time, facing the possibility of a lengthy prison sentence for cocaine trafficking.

The firearm conviction came with a five-year mandatory minimum sentence. During sentencing arguments made in April, prosecutor Martin Joly argued Paul merited a lengthier sentence than the mandatory minimum. The prosecutor said minimum sentences should be applied in cases where the offender has no criminal past. Defence lawyer Alexandre Goyette argued the federal government already factored in the dangerous nature of the crime when it had the Criminal Code amended in 2008 and set the new minimum. The maximum sentence is 14 years. On Tuesday, Braun said he didn't agree that a mandatory minimum sentence should be used as a floor on which to build on and that, in his opinion, sentences should be "based on an individualized basis" and on jurisprudence. However, Braun still sentenced Paul to seven years, two years above the minimum, for discharging a firearm with intent to injure someone. The judge said the aggravating factors, which contributed to the sentence were that Paul carried a loaded and prohibited firearm in a public area, pointed the revolver and fired it. The judge also said a police intelligence report, submitted by the prosecution as proof of Paul's gang ties, had no influence on his decision. The judge also sentenced Paul to a one-year prison term, to be served consecutively, for possession of a prohibited firearm. With the time he has already served factored into the sentence, Paul has seven years left.