Abdulkadir Handule has been found guilty of a double murder including that of popular rapper Smoke Dawg. According to court documents Abdulkadir Handule would open fire killing two men, Smoke Dawg whose real name was Jahvante Smart and Ernest Modekwe who was also known as Kobra Prime. The double shooting that took place in June 2018 on a busy Toronto Canada street would also injure a woman. Abdulkadir Handule was convicted of two counts of second degree murder which comes with a minimum sentence of fifteen years to life.
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The man charged in the 2018 death of both Toronto rapper Smoke Dawg and a brand manager who was well known in the city’s hip-hop scene has been found guilty of two counts of second-degree murder, as well as aggravated assault and discharge of a firearm.
Abdulkadir Handule was found guilty by a jury in Ontario Superior Court Thursday.
In a statement to CBC News, Handule’s lawyer Dirk Derstine said Handule and his family are “deeply disappointed in the verdict,” adding Abdulkadir Handule has asked him to begin the appeal process.
Second-degree murder in Canada comes with a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment with no chance of parole for at least 10 years. Justice Brian O’Marra told court Thursday that he would consider a recommendation from the jury when determining the length of Handule’s sentence before he is eligible for parole.
Before adjourning, O’Marra thanked the jury, saying: “It’s been trying times in society the last two years and in my view, at times when society is under different types of stress, it’s more important than ever that the justice system still be able to operate as best it can. And you have been exemplary in your dedication to the task.”
Abdulkadir Handule is set to be sentenced at 10 a.m. on May 27.
Abdulkadir Handule, who was 22 at the time of killings, earlier pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and related charges. His trial began in November but was paused for several weeks over the holidays.
Jahvante Smart, 21, known by his rap name Smoke Dawg, and Ernest Modekwe, 28, a brand manager for the hip-hop collective were gunned down on Queen Street West, which was bustling with people during the Canada Day weekend on June 30, nearly four years ago.
Smart suffered three gunshot wounds, court heard — one to his neck and two in his leg. Modekwe was shot once in the neck. A woman, who was a bystander and who was shot in the leg, survived.
About a year after the shootings,Abdulkadir Handule, known by his rap name 21 Neat, was arrested by RCMP officers in British Columbia for unrelated charges and turned over to Toronto police after a nation-wide warrant for his arrest.
A GoFundMe page set up to cover the funeral and memorial costs for Modekwe described him as a loving son and brother. “His infectious smile lit up any room he entered and he was instantly friends with anyone he met,” the page read.
“After graduating with honours from the University of Toronto, Kosi Modekwe worked hard to help his single mom and provide for his two siblings.”
Smart released his first single in 2015 and was on rapper Drake’s Boy Meets World tour.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/handule-trial-guilty-smoke-dawg-1.6362949
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A man has been convicted of second-degree murder in the shooting deaths of Toronto rapper Smoke Dawg, and a brand manager known as Kobra Prime, his lawyer says.
In an email to Global News, attorney Dirk Derstine confirmed that his client, Abdulkadir Handule, was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder on Thursday.
Twenty-one-year-old Jahvante Smart, aka Smoke Dawg, and 28-year-old Ernest Modekwe, known as Kobra Prime, were shot and killed in June of 2018.
Police said emergency crews were called to Queen Street West near Peter Street, east of Spadina Avenue in the evening of June 30, after receiving reports that gunshots had been fired.
Paramedics transported Smart and Modekwe to a trauma centre, where they both later died.
According to police, a third victim, a woman who is believed to be in her 30s, was also transported to hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries as a result of the incident.
Handule had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In the email, Derstine said Handule and his family “are saddened by the verdict and have given instructions to pursue an appeal.”