Two plead guilty to firearm charge in Windsor bowling alley shootings

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Two brothers originally charged with five counts each of attempted murder in a mass shooting outside a crowded east Windsor bowling alley three years ago have pleaded guilty to lesser crimes.

About seven shots were fired from a vehicle into a weekend crowd outside Super Bowl Lanes shortly after 1 a.m. on April 9, 2022, with five people hit by bullets.

The incident “caused massive harm,” and news of the mass shooting “sent shockwaves through the Windsor-Essex community,” assistant Crown attorney Bryan Pillon told a sentencing hearing on Friday.

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Brothers Andrew Meloche, 24, and Joshua Fryer, 22, were occupants in the vehicle that night in the Forest Glade neighbourhood. In all-day proceedings before Superior Court Justice Joseph Perfetto, both men entered guilty pleas to a single count each of occupying a motor vehicle knowing it contained a restricted 9mm handgun.

According to an agreed statement of facts, there was a confrontation inside the bowling alley between two groups, with Fryer “punched from behind” and falling to the ground. Meloche “attempted to assist” and a fight ensued, following which the manager closed the bowling alley, with all patrons escorted out.

With Fryer behind the steering wheel, Meloche and others piled into the vehicle. The driver’s window was rolled down, and a passenger in the rear allegedly pointed the firearm out and began discharging it into the crowd as the vehicle departed. Five people were struck by bullets — only one of those shot had been part of the earlier fight inside, and none received life-threatening injuries.

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“It was lucky nobody was killed,” said Fryer’s lawyer, Robert DiPietro Jr., who added his client, in the driver’s seat, “was flat-out terrified” by the shooting out the window.

“I don’t believe they knew he was going to start shooting,” said Meloche’s lawyer Robert DiPietro Sr., referring to the two brothers and the suspected gunman.

Justice Perfetto consented to a publication ban application by the accused shooter’s lawyers that prohibits any reporting of details that may identify the individual who remains charged with five counts of attempted murder. A jury trial is scheduled for next year.

Journalists for both the Windsor Star and CTV Windsor argued in court against the publication ban during a hearing at the start of Friday’s proceedings. While acknowledging the media’s constitutional right to inform the public — “one of the hallmarks of a democratic society” — and the community’s right to be informed, Justice Perfetto said that the “guaranteed” Charter right of free expression had to be balanced with the accused’s own Charter right to a fair trial.

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The accused gunman’s Toronto lawyers had sought a complete reporting ban on Friday’s proceedings until after next year’s trial, while the Crown said such a full ban should only be “a remedy of last resort.”

The agreed statement of facts read into the court record on Friday points a finger at a specific individual, and the judge said there was “a real and substantial risk” that such information made public in advance of the 2026 trial could taint potential jurors, as well as the testimony of witnesses.

Eight weeks have been set aside for that trial, and Pillon said the prosecution is expected to call “dozens of witnesses,” each providing “a small piece of the bigger puzzle” pointing to the accused shooter’s guilt. He said the bowling alley was at capacity that night and that it was a crowded and “frenetic scene” outside in the aftermath of the shooting.

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Both the defence lawyers and the Crown are recommending conditional sentences to be served from home for both Meloche and Fryer, with the defence calling for a six- to nine-month period, and the prosecution seeking a period of 14 to 20 months.

Pillon called them “two very youthful offenders” who have taken responsibility with their guilty pleas, and with both having “tremendous family support” and being “clearly on the right path” with careers ahead. The defence also pointed to no breaches over nearly three years of being on “strict house arrest” conditions.

Meloche, 21 at the time of the shootings, has a criminal record, including a previous conviction for pointing a firearm. But he was described as a mere passenger in the vehicle that night at the bowling alley.

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Fryer, 19 at the time of the shootings, had no record but was the driver that night. He had spent 30 real days in custody after his arrest, while Meloche remained behind bars for 45 days until his release on bail.

“I just feel very terrible about everything that happened,” Meloche told the court after the judge gave the brothers an opportunity to speak ahead of sentencing.

“I’m very sorry for everything — I definitely learned a lesson,” said Fryer.

Justice Perfetto, who described it as a “high-profile case” in the local community, will announce his sentencing decision on April 11.

dschmidt@postmedia.com

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