A man wanted for murder in a 2018 shooting in Toronto that killed an up-and-coming rapper has been arrested in Alberta.
RCMP in Airdrie, which is just north of Calgary, said in a news release Wednesday that on Jan. 27, officers pulled over a vehicle for speeding and illegal window tint and later discovered proceeds of crime.
Both the female driver and male passenger were arrested, but during the arrest, RCMP said the man exited the car and fled from police on foot.
“A foot pursuit ensued, and police successfully apprehended the male. A search incidental to arrest located a loaded 40-calibre firearm on his person,” the RCMP said.
“The male presented false identification, however police were able to determine his true identification.”
RCMP alleged the man was wanted on Canada-wide warrants for two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder in connection to a fatal 2018 shooting in Toronto. Police did not release his identity because he was under 18 at the time the alleged 2018 murder.
Twenty-one-year-old Jahvante Smart, known as Smoke Dawg, and 28-year-old Ernest Modekwe were killed outside a downtown Toronto nightclub on June 30 that year. A woman was also injured in the shooting but survived.
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A jury in 2022 found Abdulkadir Handule, who was arrested in British Columbia a year after the shooting, guilty of two counts of second-degree murder in the case.
RCMP said the man arrested Jan. 27 also faces several charges in connection to the traffic stop, including firearm offences and identity fraud after he allegedly presented false identification and was found carrying a gun.
The driver, a 25-year-old woman, has been charged with possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000 and counterfeit money.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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