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.”