The two men accused of killing a Winnipeg teenager in a violent 2019 home invasion have pleaded guilty to their charges.
Jaime Adao, 17, was with his grandmother at their West End home on March 3, 2019, when the accused broke into the house. Police arrived to find an armed man attacking Adao and had to shoot the suspect to stop the attack.
Adao died from the injuries he suffered during the altercation.
The accused, Ronald Chubb and Geordie James, appeared in court via video link from Headingley Correctional Institution on Tuesday.
Chubb pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and James pleaded guilty to manslaughter. The guilty pleas mean the case will not go to a trial.
The court heard that video surveillance from a nearby beer store showed both Chubb and James entering the backyard of the Adaos’ McGee Street home on the evening of March 3, 2019.
The agreed statement of facts says the pair broke into the home and Adao, who was upstairs with his grandmother, heard loud banging and called 911.
James was stealing items in the family’s basement when Chubb asked him to go upstairs. Chubb, armed with a seven-inch long knife, went to the second floor where Jamie was hiding in his room and his grandmother was sleeping.
A struggle between Adao and Chubb was heard and recorded over the 911 call.
When officers arrived, Chubb refused to drop the knife and was then shot by police. On Tuesday, Chubb’s lawyer said he was intoxicated during the incident.
The court documents say Adao sustained multiple stab wounds during the altercation and ultimately died as a result of a stab wound to his back.
The agreed statement of facts also said that while Chubb went to the second floor, James stayed in the living room looking for more items to steal.
The document says James was unaware police were in the home and was about to go to the second floor when he heard the struggle, followed by gunshots.
James fled the home out the front door, where he saw a parked police cruiser. He tossed his stolen items on the front yard, ran back through the home, and fled through the back door.
James was later arrested in April 2019 and charged with manslaughter.
While James was not involved in the stabbing, crown prosecutor Vanessa Gama explained to the court that because the lights were on, there was objective foreseeability that someone could be injured when he broke into the home.
Sentencing is set for Jan. 15. Both Chubb and James are expected to be in the courtroom.
Adao Jr. was a Grade 12 student at Technical Vocational High School, known as Tech Voc, and had been a student there since Grade 9.
Friends have said the teen’s parents came to Manitoba through the provincial nominee program as labourers and eventually opened two successful bakeries. His parents own the popular Jimel’s Bakery and the teen often worked behind the counter.
Adao Jr.’s random slaying shook police and the larger community. Winnipeg police Cost. Rob Carver told a news conference after the killing that hearing the 911 call was an extremely difficult moment in his 25-year career.
“There was a very calm and collected young man on the phone for the bulk of the phone call and it turned into an absolutely gut-wrenchingly tragic event,” Carver said at the time.
–With files from The Canadian Press
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