Inmate who recently escaped from Laval prison was denied parole days earlier (2024)

Yacine Zouaoui, the man who escaped from a federal penitentiary in Laval last week, was denied parole just 10 days before he went on the lam.

“It is the (Parole Board of Canada’s) opinion that you will present an undue risk to society if released on day parole and that your release will not contribute to the protection of society by facilitating your reintegration into society as a law-abiding citizen,” the board wrote in the conclusion of a decision it made on May 13 denying a release for Zouaoui, 32.

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On May 23, he left the minimum-security Federal Training Centre in Laval and was unaccounted for when a head count was done at 10:45 p.m. He has yet to be found.

Zouaoui is serving a life sentence for a second-degree murder conviction he received in July 2012 following a trial in British Columbia.

In March 2011, he stabbed someone he knew in the back with a sword after the man uttered a racial slur toward Zouaoui.

“It appears from file information that you knew the victim, as you were both involved in the concentrated Hungarian community. There was animosity between you two, and you had had encounters with him that required police intervention on multiple occasions. You reported that you had consumed alcohol and some cannabis before stabbing the victim. You deny that you intended to kill the victim,” the parole board wrote while summarizing what was behind the homicide.

The decision also notes that Zouaoui has got into trouble often while serving his sentence. For example, in October 2013, he participated in an attack on an inmate with two accomplices. During the attack, he punched and kicked the victim in the head repeatedly. The following year, he was convicted of assault causing bodily harm and received an eight-month concurrent sentence.

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In 2020, while at a medium-security penitentiary, he was stabbed by another inmate and required life-saving surgery.

Zouaoui was also denied day parole on May 31, 2023. The board chose instead to grant him access to escorted temporary absences to prepare him for parole, but some of his 70 outings over the next 10 months did not go well.

When his case management team (CMT) recommended that Zouaoui be denied parole, it reported that his attitude toward his escorted leaves was “generally non-committal.”

“You were selective about those available to you for the purpose of community service, and your CMT described you as being persistent in questioning the pertinence of participating in such absences. This was reflected in your demeanour during the absences, as two resources did not welcome you back, describing you as arrogant, unmotivated and unwilling to work. During the hearing, you explained that you found it difficult given the time conflicts between the community service outings and your educational pursuits, as well as your back pain,” the parole board wrote.

“The board must also take into consideration that the psychological risk assessment completed in February 2021, and validated in 2023, indicates that you present a moderate risk of violent recidivism on a medium to long-term basis and recommended a very gradual reintegration into society in your case.”

pcherry@postmedia.com

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