In a Toronto courtroom on Thursday, defense attorneys argued that a man, who was a teenager at the time of the incident, should not be held accountable for the deaths of a rapper and his associate in a shooting on Queen Street West in 2018. The 24-year-old accused, whose identity is shielded under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, faces charges related to the killings of Jahvante Smart, known as Smoke Dawg, and Ernest Modekwe, known as Koba Prime. The prosecution is pushing for convictions on two counts of second-degree murder, along with additional charges connected to the injury of a bystander.
Smart and Modekwe were fatally shot on Queen Street W., near Peter Street, on June 30, 2018. The trial is being overseen by Justice Michael Dineen at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The accused fled Ontario after the shooting and was apprehended in Alberta in 2025.
During the proceedings, defense lawyer Gary Grill contended that the man, who was 16 years old at the time, fired shots outside Cube nightclub in response to Smart initiating gunfire. Grill asserted that the accused’s actions were reactionary to the sudden and unexpected gunshots and that he was not responsible for Smart’s death, thus refuting the second-degree murder charges. Grill emphasized that the events were not orchestrated like a movie scene and disputed the Crown’s assertion that the accused and his co-defendant acted in concert.
While acknowledging his client’s guilt in aggravated assault, Grill maintained that the man was not involved in the fatal shooting of Smart. The defense lawyer cited discrepancies in the prosecution’s arguments and urged the judge to consider the lack of conclusive evidence beyond a reasonable doubt.
According to an agreed statement of facts presented in court, the accused and his co-defendant, Handule, refrained from entering the club due to the accused’s underage status. Subsequently, after a change of plans, the accused directed the driver to return to the club where Smart and Modekwe were present but denied entry. Altercations ensued, leading to a tragic sequence of events culminating in the fatal shootings.
Handule, previously convicted of similar charges, engaged in a verbal dispute with Smart before the violent exchange of gunfire that resulted in the deaths of Smart and Modekwe. The statement detailed how Handule approached Smart and fatally shot him while he was incapacitated on the ground. Modekwe was also fatally shot during the altercation.
Moreover, a bystander sustained a gunshot wound to the lower leg during the chaos and subsequently received medical treatment. Following the incident, both Handule and the accused fled the scene. The judge is expected to deliver a verdict in November to conclude the trial proceedings.