The 19‑year‑old accused of fatally shooting Toronto police Const. Marc Pinizzotto during a June 11 search‑warrant operation has formally been charged with first‑degree murder after regaining consciousness in the hospital.
Court heard Friday that Nicholas Bennett — who was critically injured when gunfire erupted inside a fourth‑floor apartment on Martha Eaton Way in North York — is now awake, though still hospitalized and not fully aware of the legal proceedings unfolding around him.
A justice of the peace twice asked Bennett to give a thumbs up if he could hear and understand what was happening in court, and the 19-year-old, who was lying down in bed at St. Michael’s Hospital, slowly made the gesture after the second request.
Defence lawyer Tonya Kent, appearing as a friend of the court to assist Bennett until he secures formal counsel, told the court that while Bennett is conscious, “he still doesn’t really understand what is happening.”
Because Bennett is now awake, the first‑degree murder charge — previously pending due to his condition in the hospital — has been formally laid, the court confirmed.
Court was told Friday that officers provided Bennett with a laptop in the hospital, so he can attend upcoming court appearances remotely. He is not yet represented by a retained lawyer.
Const. Pinizzotto, a veteran member of the Emergency Task Force, was shot and killed while officers executed a series of search warrants tied to the U.S. Consulate shooting investigation and other GTA gunfire incidents. Bennett was also shot during the exchange and transported to the hospital in critical condition.
Police have said the warrants were part of a wider probe into a criminals‑for‑hire network, with alleged links to multiple shootings across Toronto, including the March attack on the U.S. Consulate.
Investigators arrested 19-year-old Zara Jabbi at Toronto Pearson airport on Wednesday, who was wanted in connection with the shooting at the Consulate. The other male linked to that incident, Sheldon Tracey‑Stewart, 18, is also in police custody.
Bennett is being investigated in relation to two separate shootings in late March, at a residence on March 25 in Scarborough and on March 26 at a business in Etobicoke. No injuries were reported in either incident.
Bennett is set to return to court by video on Monday, and the court heard he can apply for bail in Superior Court at a later date.
With files from The Canadian Press