THUNDER BAY — The third person charged with first-degree murder in connection to the 2021 death of 33-year-old Jordan Lapointe has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and has been sentenced to time served and two years probation.
Ronald Hill, 46, of Thunder Bay, appeared before Justice Danial Newton in a Thunder Bay courtroom on Friday where he pleaded not guilty to the original charge of first-degree murder but guilty to the lesser charge of forcible confinement.
Hill was first charged on Oct. 28, 2021 with first-degree murder following an investigation by the Thunder Bay Police Service into Lapointe’s death.
Michael Gomez of Nepean, Ont., Derek Turner of Thunder Bay, and Shane Cabral of Ottawa, Ont. were also arrested and charged with first-degree murder as part of the investigation.
Gomez has since pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 18 years.
Turner pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Thursday and was sentenced to life in prison. He will be ineligible for parole for 16 years.
Shane Cabral is expected to stand trial later this month.
The charges relate to an incident in early October 2021 at Lapointe’s residence in the 100 block of Frederica Street East.
First responders were called to the residence the night of October 3 for reports of a structural fire and explosion.
After the fire was extinguished, Lapointe’s remains were located inside the residence and police determined his death was a homicide.
An agreed statement of facts was shared with the court, but details are being limited to protect the integrity of the evidence prior to the final accused individual’s case being resolved.
During Hill’s plea on Friday, two victim impact statements were shared with the court.
Sharon Labelle, Jordan’s grandmother, said she cannot believe she is sitting in a courtroom listening to the horrible things done to her grandson.
“You are such a brave man to simply walk away from a young man that just came from a life-changing trauma of losing his arm,” she said to Hill. “You had the choice to be able to do something to save him. All you had to do was call the police, but you chose to walk away and do nothing.”
Labelle added that she hopes Hill will continue to hear Jordan’s pleas for help wherever he goes for the rest of his life.
“You are being set free from the justice system, but I don’t believe you will ever have a free moment of your life,” she said.
Jordan’s mother, Corinna Lapointe, told the court that her son was a radiant light in the family and everyone’s lives have been changed forever following his tragic death.
“His absence has torn a hole in the fabric of our family that no time can ever heal,” she said.
Corinna added walking into Jordan’s burnt-out home was an agonizing experience, because it was somewhere he should have been safe and protected.
“You made a choice that night,” she said to Hill. “You made the choice to save yourself and not help Jordan. You left the premises knowing what was going to happen and you did nothing. Absolutely nothing.
“How can you live with yourself knowing you let an innocent person die? Ronald, you are pure evil. Your choices have devastated our lives forever. You will have to live with this for the rest of your life. I will never forgive you for your choices and your actions.”
A joint submission on sentence was provided to the court by defence counsel George Joseph and Crown attorney Gordon Fillmore.
Joseph provided background on Hill, who he said has struggled with addiction issues since the age of 15 but has since undertaken rehabilitative programs while in custody.
Joseph also referred to an interview Hill gave to police upon his arrest where he expressed remorse for his actions in relation to Lapointe’s death.
“Mr. Hill expressed remorse for what he did to Mr. Lapointe and expressed guilt for what he failed to do to assist Mr. Lapointe. He still expresses those things today,” Joseph said.
“It is cold comfort to the Lapointe family about whatever happens to any of the individuals in this case, but we have a job to serve justice and the interest of justice based on my client’s culpability is reflected in the joint submission.”
When given the opportunity to speak, Hill said: “I’m very remorseful. What I say right now doesn’t make a difference how they feel towards me. I will just leave it at that for now.”
Newton accepted the joint submission of one day in custody with credit for time served to be followed by two years probation. Newton noted Hill’s pre-sentence custody reflects a fit and just sentence on the charge of forcible confinement.
“The conviction for forcible confinement and proposed penalty of three years in custody is not a sentence that would bring the administration of justice into disrepute based on the facts as admitted, so I am prepared to accept the joint submission,” Newton said.
Following his arrest, Hill was denied bail. He has spent two years and six months of real time in pre-sentence custody, which was enhanced at a rate of 1 to 1.5 days to equal three years.
Hill is also required to submit a DNA sample, is subject to a weapons prohibition for life, and is to have no contact with the Lapointe family throughout his probationary period.
All other charges were marked withdrawn.
