Moncton teen pleads guilty to manslaughter in 2022 shooting death

A 19-year-old in Moncton has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the shooting death of a teenager in the city last year.

The Youth Criminal Justice Act prohibits naming the 19-year-old because he was under 18 at the time of the crime. 

The man was among six people charged with first-degree murder in connection with the April 25, 2022, shooting death of Joedin Leger. 

The man appeared by video in Moncton youth court where a new charge of manslaughter was laid. 

"I plead guilty," the man said to Judge Ronald LeBlanc.

No details given yet

The details of what he's admitting are expected to be given when the 19-year-old returns to court on Oct. 18 for sentencing.

Victim impact statements from three people will be prepared ahead of sentencing, as well as a pre-sentence report about the 19-year-old. 

Jason Dempsey, the 19-year-old's lawyer, declined to comment on the plea outside the courthouse.

The 19-year-old still faces the first-degree murder charge which will be dealt with in the future appearance at the Court of King's Bench where a trial had been scheduled from April 8-26, 2024.

He was the only one of the six charged who still faced a first-degree murder charge. 

Riley Phillips, Hayden LeBlanc, Hunter England, Jerek England and Nicholas McAvoy are being tried separately from the youth. 

Their charges were reduced following a preliminary inquiry earlier this year. 

Phillips faces a second-degree murder charge, while the four others are charged with manslaughter. The five also face charges of conspiracy to commit robbery and attempted robbery.

First-degree murder is a homicide that's planned and deliberate, while second-degree is a homicide that's generally unplanned.

Manslaughter is a homicide that's committed without intent, though there may have been an intention to cause harm.

RCMP have previously said police were called around 6:10 a.m. on April 25, 2022, about shots being fired at a Logan Lane duplex in Moncton's north end neighbourhood.

Leger had been shot and was taken to hospital, where he later died. RCMP said another person was inside the home but wasn't injured. 

Police said they determined a car had pulled up to the home and four people got out and approached the house. 

Several shots were fired before the four got back into a vehicle and fled the area, police said in a news release last year.