Trial begins for 2nd person accused in 2018 murder of rapper Smoke Dawg

More than eight years after the fatal shootings of rappers Jahvante Smart, known as Smoke Dawg, and Ernest Modekwe, a.k.a. Koba Prime, a double murder trial is underway for a 24-year-old man. The accused, who was only 16 at the time of the killings, is being tried as a youth before Superior Court Justice Michael Dineen. He pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder and the attempted murder of an innocent bystander who was wounded.

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Identity is conceded. He is at least guilty of aggravated assault.

The prosecution, led by General Counsel Ana Tenhouse, will be seeking convictions for second-degree murder, despite the indictment initially reading first-degree murder. The trial will proceed based on an agreed statement of facts and a video compilation, with no witnesses to be called. The defense lawyer, Gary Grill, acknowledged that identity is conceded and his client is at least guilty of aggravated assault concerning the wounded bystander.

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He is at least guilty of aggravated assault.

According to the agreed statement of facts, the incident occurred on June 30, 2018, outside a nightclub. The accused and his co-accused, Abdulkadir Handule, were denied entry to the venue. Handule was convicted in 2022 for the second-degree murders of Smart and Modekwe, as well as the aggravated assault of the bystander. The defense intends to argue provocation and contest whether the client, as a youth at the time, possessed the "intent for murder."

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Crown and defence will launch straight into closing submissions after the video compilation is played.