Murder at Dix30: Ponytail connects shooter to the accused: prosecutor

Dec 05, 2023

Witnesses said the man who shot Éric Francis De Souza on May 10, 2019 had long hair. While under surveillance, the accused had a ponytail.

The man who shot Éric Francis De Souza at a restaurant in the Dix30 shopping complex went out of his way to hide his facial features from potential witnesses and ever-present surveillance cameras, but was apparently unwilling to sacrifice one very distinguishing feature to carry out the murder.

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Prosecutor Tian Meng focused on this part of the evidence early on while making her closing arguments Tuesday in the murder trial of Joshua Sarroino, 29, at the Montreal courthouse.

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Witnesses who were inside the Sofia restaurant in Brossard on May 10, 2019 when De Souza, 24, was shot once in the back of his head described the shooter as having long hair that was either tied back in a ponytail, braided or pulled through the back of a cap the shooter wore.

Footage from surveillance cameras installed inside and outside the restaurant showed the shooter also wore a ski mask to hide his face. Meng argued to the jury there are moments in the footage where it is evident the shooter had long hair, specifically when the killer turned his head a couple of times.

Sarroino became a suspect in the shooting when his DNA was found on the revolver used to shoot the victim. The firearm was discovered on the terrace of a restaurant along the shooter's path as he ran from the scene. His fingerprints and DNA were also found on a President's Choice green plastic grocery bag the shooter used to cover the firearm in his right hand before and after he shot the victim. The bag was found near the revolver.

The accused was placed under surveillance weeks after the shooting and some of his movements were captured on video. In her slide presentation, Meng showed the jury two photos in which Sarroino had long hair tied in a ponytail.

Throughout the trial, Sarroino's hair has been very short.

"It is not contested that first-degree murder occurred that night. The only issue here is who committed it. The shooter took precautions to hide his identity with a face covering and a hat," Meng said. "He also took the precaution of using a stolen car (to leave Dix30) with a stolen plate. That car was later set on fire at a residential dead end.

"The prosecution's theory is that the accused is the shooter."

During the trial the jury was shown a video of the stolen car, a white Ford Focus, as it was set on fire at the residential dead end on Des Prairies Rd. A person is seen running past the fire and getting into a dark car before it sped away. Meng said the Crown's theory is that both vehicles arrived at Dix 30 together before the shooting and were captured on surveillance cameras, one following behind the other, before they parked near the restaurant where the revolver was found.

An expert witness later testified the dark car seen in the video with the burning Ford Focus was either an Infinity G35 or G37. When Sarroino was placed under police surveillance after the shooting, Sarroino was often seen driving an Infiniti G37 registered in his father's name.

Defence lawyer Danièle Roy argued the Crown did not present evidence of a motive behind the homicide. She argued that the prosecution is not required to present such evidence: "Sometimes when there is only circumstantial evidence it helps."

Roy also said there was no evidence to indicate the victim and the accused knew each other and there was no evidence to indicate why De Souza was shot.

The defence attorney also noted how a surveillance camera appeared to record how the shooter was talking on a cell phone just before he entered the Sofia restaurant, but there was no evidence presented linking Sarroino to a call made at that moment.

Superior Court Justice Pierre Labrie told the jury that he plans to deliver his final instructions to them on Friday and that they should expect to be sequestered at the end of the same day.

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