One person charged in Collingwood homicide

One person has been charged with second-degree murder after a 33-year-old man died in Collingwood on Friday.

According to OPP, officers from the Collingwood and Blue Mountains OPP responded to an address on Matthew Way in Collingwood shortly before 11 p.m. Friday after receiving reports of a disturbance and soon after launched a homicide investigation.

As a result of the investigation, police arrested 43-year-old Jeffrey Young of Wasaga Beach and charged him with second-degree murder.

OPP identified the victim as 33-year-old Dustin Leblond of Clearview Township.

Dustin Leblond with his sister Dakotah. (Supplied photo) "I don't have details with regards to the relationship or any kind of link between the accused and the victim. That being said, however; certainly, the victim is deceased as a result of that particular interaction between the two parties," said OPP Const. Martin Hachey.

A mutual friend of both individuals involved said the two were friends, and the issue had been resolved prior to Leblond allegedly being stabbed.

"They're decent people; just drugs get involved, and people get lost in the drugs, it happens, right? It's just poor decision-making, and I'm sure Jeff is sitting in his cell right now regretting everything that happened; him and Dustin were friends."

Leblond's loved ones told CTV News he was a caring protector.

He is survived by his siblings and parents, who say he didn't deserve this brutal end and died helping someone he thought was his friend.

The accused appeared in Bail Court on Sunday and remains in custody. Police say he is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Collingwood on June 7.

The allegations against the accused have not been tested in court.

The investigation is ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to contact Collingwood OPP at 705-445-4321 or 1-888-310-1122.