Chair Girl could hurt her case by partying in Punta Cana
Graeme Gordon
Published:
May 29, 2019
Updated:
May 29, 2019 8:14 PM EDT
Marcella Zoia catching some rays in Punta Cana.Instagram
Chair Girl — aka Marcella Zoia — may be making her lawyer’s job difficult as she hasn’t really been keeping a low profile.
Zoia recently posted videos to Instagram of her and friends living it up in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
“The first thing I would say is absolutely don’t engage in any activity that draws attention to or that gets you at risk of getting in trouble again,” said prominent criminal lawyer Monte MacGregor, who is not representing the Toronto woman.
A video went viral in February which shows the 19-year-old tossing a chair dozens of stories off the balcony of a Bremner Blvd. high rise next to the Gardiner Expressway.
She’s slated to appear in court on June 14 to face charges of mischief endangering life and other offences. The allegations against her have not been proven in court.
Her lawyer, Gregory Leslie, has said publicly that Zoia was influenced by peer pressure and is now traumatized by the event.
One of Marcella Zoia’s latest Instagram posts.
In her latest round of postings –mostly video — Zoia is seen dancing and drinking what appears to be alcohol in Punta Cana.
Leslie in May responded to one of her Instagram posts — showing the woman partying on another occasion — by getting his client to take a drug test which proved she hadn’t consumed any illicit narcotics. Leslie did not respond to the Toronto Sun‘s request for comment on the latest postings.
“So looking at the videos and how is it relevant to the assessment … the Crown probably couldn’t use it against her, unless only for her credibility,” added MacGregor.
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He said if the Crown attorney was made aware of the postings, and they seem to be getting media attention, “it will be hard for her to present an innocent picture or a picture whereby she’s taking responsibility and addressing the underlying issues that may have led to her choice to commit the (alleged) criminal act.”
Zoia was released on $2,000 bail under conditions that included living with her mother and having no contact with individuals present at the chair-throwing incident.
If convicted, the Crown will likely ask for a “short sharp period of jail,” predicted MacGregor, adding, “if a pre-sentence report is made … the officer in charge will do things like speak to family members and friends to try and get a further understanding of who she is and they’ll also want to know her degree of accountability for the offence.”
A recent posting on Marcella Zoia’s Instagram account.
http://torontosun.com/news/crime/chair-girl-could-hurt-her-case-by-partying-in-punta-cana
Graeme Gordon
Published:
May 29, 2019
Updated:
May 29, 2019 8:14 PM EDT
Marcella Zoia catching some rays in Punta Cana.Instagram
Chair Girl — aka Marcella Zoia — may be making her lawyer’s job difficult as she hasn’t really been keeping a low profile.
Zoia recently posted videos to Instagram of her and friends living it up in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
“The first thing I would say is absolutely don’t engage in any activity that draws attention to or that gets you at risk of getting in trouble again,” said prominent criminal lawyer Monte MacGregor, who is not representing the Toronto woman.
A video went viral in February which shows the 19-year-old tossing a chair dozens of stories off the balcony of a Bremner Blvd. high rise next to the Gardiner Expressway.
She’s slated to appear in court on June 14 to face charges of mischief endangering life and other offences. The allegations against her have not been proven in court.
Her lawyer, Gregory Leslie, has said publicly that Zoia was influenced by peer pressure and is now traumatized by the event.
One of Marcella Zoia’s latest Instagram posts.
In her latest round of postings –mostly video — Zoia is seen dancing and drinking what appears to be alcohol in Punta Cana.
Leslie in May responded to one of her Instagram posts — showing the woman partying on another occasion — by getting his client to take a drug test which proved she hadn’t consumed any illicit narcotics. Leslie did not respond to the Toronto Sun‘s request for comment on the latest postings.
“So looking at the videos and how is it relevant to the assessment … the Crown probably couldn’t use it against her, unless only for her credibility,” added MacGregor.
Chair Girl wants to kill cocaine use rumours: Lawyer
Drug test shows Chair Girl did not use cocaine: Lawyer
He said if the Crown attorney was made aware of the postings, and they seem to be getting media attention, “it will be hard for her to present an innocent picture or a picture whereby she’s taking responsibility and addressing the underlying issues that may have led to her choice to commit the (alleged) criminal act.”
Zoia was released on $2,000 bail under conditions that included living with her mother and having no contact with individuals present at the chair-throwing incident.
If convicted, the Crown will likely ask for a “short sharp period of jail,” predicted MacGregor, adding, “if a pre-sentence report is made … the officer in charge will do things like speak to family members and friends to try and get a further understanding of who she is and they’ll also want to know her degree of accountability for the offence.”
A recent posting on Marcella Zoia’s Instagram account.
http://torontosun.com/news/crime/chair-girl-could-hurt-her-case-by-partying-in-punta-cana