Marcella Zoia Just Plead Guilty & Could Get Up To 6 Months In Jail

A much-publicized Toronto court case is almost near its end. Marcella Zoia has just pleaded guilty to Mischief Endangering Life. It was revealed during Marcella Zoia's Toronto court appearance that the 19-year-old could face up to 6 months in jail for her crimes. 

Zoia’s case was delayed several times over the past year. The 19-year-old was initially supposed to appear at Old City hall on August 29. Her case was ultimately put over until October 22, before being rescheduled to November 15, which marked the first time Zoia had appeared in court since last February. 

Gregory Leslie, Zoia’s lawyer, admitted to reporters outside of Old City courthouse back in October that his client could face jail time due to the serious nature of her charges. 

According to live tweets by 680NEWS and CTV News reporters, Zoia pleaded guilty just after 11:00 a.m. It was also reported that the Crown is seeking a maximum penalty of six months. Zoia will be returning to court on January 14, 2020, for sentencing, reports Momin Qureshi from 680 NEWS.

According to Qureshi, Leslie has explained to Zoia that her guilty plea will likely affect her ability to travel to the States and accept certain modelling jobs there.

According to Betsy Powell from the Toronto Star, the judge asked Zoia directly if she was the one to throw the chair over the balcony to which she responded “yes.”

Leslie later confirmed that her admission only relates to a single chair, as two metal wooden chairs were located by police. The objects were found 10 metres from the Gardiner Expressway. A security camera captured people near where the chairs landed, including a woman pushing a baby stroller, Powell reports.

Zoia’s lawyer later spoke with reporters outside of the courthouse about the Crown’s intention to seek jail time.

“I think that’s excessive very much so, we have to remember that Marcella is 19-years-old, when you deal with somebody so young in my opinion they are not fully-developed, the brain is not fully developed, she was still a young lady at that time she made a mistake,” Leslie said to 680 News.

The lawyer also revealed that Zoia has “a lot of anxiety” about the possible jail sentence.

Zoia found herself in hot water several times while the courts were processing her case.

A clip of her slurring a brief sentence about the chair-throwing incident made headlines following her arrest. She was also reportedly expelled from college, where she was studying dental hygiene.

Zoia refused to answer reporters' questions as she left the courthouse on Friday. She will likely lay low until it's time to face the music in January.

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