Men arrested in connection with Old Montreal fire charged with 2nd-degree murder, arson

The two young men arrested by Montreal police Friday in connection with a deadly building fire in Old Montreal last week have been charged with second-degree murder and arson. 

Justin Fortier-Trahan, 20, is suspected by Montreal police of using an incendiary device to set fire to the building on 400 Notre-Dame Street around 2:30 a.m. on Oct. 4. Juventino Hernandez Pelaez, 18, allegedly drove the getaway car, Montreal police told reporters Friday.

Both men have been jointly charged with two counts of second-degree murder for the deaths of Léonar Geraudie, 43, and her seven-year-old daughter Vérane Reynaud-Geraudie.

There were 23 other people inside the building, which housed a restaurant on the main floor and a hostel upstairs, at the time of the fire, all of whom made it out. 

Fortier-Trahan and Pelaez have also been charged with arson causing bodily harm and recklessly endangering life by causing damage to a property by fire or explosion in the Old Montreal fire case.

The pair is also facing another arson charge in relation to a separate incident that occurred earlier that same night at a different address on Wellington Street in the Sud-Ouest borough.

Police were called to that building around 1 a.m. on Oct. 4 where they found an incendiary object that had been thrown through the building’s window causing only minor damage.

Police were called again to that same building the following day on Oct. 5 around 5:45 a.m. and found another incendiary object at the scene. This time the building caught fire causing important damage.

Nobody was injured since the building, which houses a business, was not occupied at the time, says Montreal police spokesperson Caroline Chèvrefils. That incident is still under investigation by Montreal police’s arson unit.

Fortier-Trahan and Pelaez are only charged with the events of Oct. 4. They were formally charged in court Saturday.

The disclosure of evidence is scheduled for Oct. 15. The two accused will be back in court on Oct. 18.