S
SD2
Guest
Perhaps you should do us all a favour and leave the city.
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Perhaps you should do us all a favour and leave the city.
A
Abeja de Almirante
Guest
Guys, I just wanted to apologise for my insensitive and poorly put comments above. I've re-read my original post, and it was out of line and racist. I should have never equated our street violence with race, and just instead concentrated on my concern about violence in general. I do hold a general fear of the gangst'a culture in parts of Toronto, but again must remind myself that this has nothing to do with race, and everything to do with poverty and hopelessness. If I can do something to help with the latter two issues, then that will be time well spent.
B
Bogtrotter
Guest
Forgiven but not forgotten. Welcome back.
U
unimaginative2
Guest
I guess I may as well use this thread to post an article about the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
Cellphone theft sparked Boxing Day shootout
Toronto high school student killed on Yonge Street in 2005 when rival gangs opened fire
OMAR EL AKKAD
From Friday's Globe and Mail
TORONTO — A shooting that shocked the country when rival gang members opened fire on a busy street and killed a teenage girl started with the theft of a cellphone from a petty criminal shortly before chaos and gunfire erupted in downtown Toronto, a court heard Thursday.
Jane Creba, a high-school student, was killed in the shooting on Boxing Day, 2005, and six others were injured. On Thursday, 19-year-old Richard Steele became the first person to plead guilty to a crime as a result of the probe into her killing.
During an appearance at a Toronto courtroom Thursday, Mr. Steele's lawyer, Selwyn Pieters, said the young man may have been the intended target of the shooting. Court heard that Mr. Steele, a gun and drug dealer, was robbed of his cellphone shortly before gunfire erupted near the corner of Toronto's Yonge and Dundas streets.
The phone was later found with one of the youth suspects in Ms. Creba's killing.
Police also alleged Mr. Steele was hit in the crossfire but did not seek medical attention, something Mr. Pieters said Mr. Steele is neither confirming nor denying.
Mr. Steele, the son of a prominent Toronto black community leader, was one of dozens arrested and charged in connection with the case.
But the charges he pleaded guilty to Thursday are not directly related to the Creba shooting; months after the killing, investigators searched his home.
For three gun- and drug-related charges, Mr. Steele was sentenced to a total of 21 months in prison and 12 months of probation. Because some of the charges were under different jurisdictions, representatives for the provincial and federal Crown were present at Toronto's Old City Hall for the sentencing.
“This brings closure for everyone,†Mr. Pieters said in an interview.
“It has been a difficult time for Richard's family. Him accepting responsibility means the matter is going to be proceeding to the next level, where he tries to rehabilitate himself, and it serves as a deterrent.â€
Mr. Richard's involvement in the Creba case has made life difficult for his family in more ways than one.
The young man was listed as one of 25 suspects in a police release on the case last June. His home was subsequently raided.
However, Mr. Steele's family, represented by Mr. Pieters, later filed suit against Toronto police.
The suit claimed that while police did find illegal items, they found nothing related to the Creba investigation, and it charged several officers with abuse of process, false arrest and conspiracy to injure.
A Toronto Police Service investigator on the Creba case did not return calls seeking comment Thursday.
But things became even more bizarre during Mr. Steele's bail review in December of last year. Police had been intercepting calls from his home as part of their investigation.
One of the calls involved his mother, Valarie Steele, the former president of the Jamaican Canadian Association.
The conversation, recorded in March of last year, came at a time when Ms. Steele was a housing tribunal adjudicator. The tribunal's job is to settle disputes between landlords and tenants, and Ms. Steele was heard tipping off a friend that she was about to hear her case.
“Don't tell anybody you know me,†Ms. Steele was heard telling her friend over the phone. “Just play it cool, this conversation never happened.â€
Although unrelated to the charges against Mr. Steele or the Creba shooting investigation, the revelation stunned the courtroom at the time, and sparked calls for a review of cases Ms. Steele was involved in as an adjudicator.
While Mr. Steele has now been sentenced for his crimes, his involvement in the Creba investigation may not be over yet. The Crown is attempting to subpoena him to testify about what he saw that day, but it appears Mr. Steele will fight that order.
A dozen people, including three youths, are facing murder or manslaughter charges in connection with the 2005 shooting.
Their trials have not yet concluded.
© Copyright 2007 CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Cellphone theft sparked Boxing Day shootout
Toronto high school student killed on Yonge Street in 2005 when rival gangs opened fire
OMAR EL AKKAD
From Friday's Globe and Mail
TORONTO — A shooting that shocked the country when rival gang members opened fire on a busy street and killed a teenage girl started with the theft of a cellphone from a petty criminal shortly before chaos and gunfire erupted in downtown Toronto, a court heard Thursday.
Jane Creba, a high-school student, was killed in the shooting on Boxing Day, 2005, and six others were injured. On Thursday, 19-year-old Richard Steele became the first person to plead guilty to a crime as a result of the probe into her killing.
During an appearance at a Toronto courtroom Thursday, Mr. Steele's lawyer, Selwyn Pieters, said the young man may have been the intended target of the shooting. Court heard that Mr. Steele, a gun and drug dealer, was robbed of his cellphone shortly before gunfire erupted near the corner of Toronto's Yonge and Dundas streets.
The phone was later found with one of the youth suspects in Ms. Creba's killing.
Police also alleged Mr. Steele was hit in the crossfire but did not seek medical attention, something Mr. Pieters said Mr. Steele is neither confirming nor denying.
Mr. Steele, the son of a prominent Toronto black community leader, was one of dozens arrested and charged in connection with the case.
But the charges he pleaded guilty to Thursday are not directly related to the Creba shooting; months after the killing, investigators searched his home.
For three gun- and drug-related charges, Mr. Steele was sentenced to a total of 21 months in prison and 12 months of probation. Because some of the charges were under different jurisdictions, representatives for the provincial and federal Crown were present at Toronto's Old City Hall for the sentencing.
“This brings closure for everyone,†Mr. Pieters said in an interview.
“It has been a difficult time for Richard's family. Him accepting responsibility means the matter is going to be proceeding to the next level, where he tries to rehabilitate himself, and it serves as a deterrent.â€
Mr. Richard's involvement in the Creba case has made life difficult for his family in more ways than one.
The young man was listed as one of 25 suspects in a police release on the case last June. His home was subsequently raided.
However, Mr. Steele's family, represented by Mr. Pieters, later filed suit against Toronto police.
The suit claimed that while police did find illegal items, they found nothing related to the Creba investigation, and it charged several officers with abuse of process, false arrest and conspiracy to injure.
A Toronto Police Service investigator on the Creba case did not return calls seeking comment Thursday.
But things became even more bizarre during Mr. Steele's bail review in December of last year. Police had been intercepting calls from his home as part of their investigation.
One of the calls involved his mother, Valarie Steele, the former president of the Jamaican Canadian Association.
The conversation, recorded in March of last year, came at a time when Ms. Steele was a housing tribunal adjudicator. The tribunal's job is to settle disputes between landlords and tenants, and Ms. Steele was heard tipping off a friend that she was about to hear her case.
“Don't tell anybody you know me,†Ms. Steele was heard telling her friend over the phone. “Just play it cool, this conversation never happened.â€
Although unrelated to the charges against Mr. Steele or the Creba shooting investigation, the revelation stunned the courtroom at the time, and sparked calls for a review of cases Ms. Steele was involved in as an adjudicator.
While Mr. Steele has now been sentenced for his crimes, his involvement in the Creba investigation may not be over yet. The Crown is attempting to subpoena him to testify about what he saw that day, but it appears Mr. Steele will fight that order.
A dozen people, including three youths, are facing murder or manslaughter charges in connection with the 2005 shooting.
Their trials have not yet concluded.
© Copyright 2007 CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.
F
fiendishlibrarian
Guest
^ I heard about that angle awhile back, third-hand.