For four-and-a-half years, the family of Jermaine Titus, a chef who worked at the Yorkdale Moxie’s and a father to a young son, has been waiting to see the couple responsible for his murder sent to prison.
On Tuesday, Shamoi Palmer, the man who fired an illegal gun across three lanes of traffic on busy Weston Road on Aug. 22, 2018, striking Titus, was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years — the automatic sentence for first-degree murder.
During the trial, the jury heard Titus, 32, who was driving in the opposite direction on his way to get a haircut, was not the intended target but a man known as “Skeeno” was.
Palmer’s girlfriend, co-accused of the murder, who texted Palmer prior to the shooting to let him know that she’d seen Skeeno in the 7-11 at Weston Road and Jane Street, setting off the deadly chain of events, was found guilty of manslaughter. She will be sentenced in the next few months.
For the family of Titus, the facts of the case are still hard to fathom and have left them in fear.
“The way he died was cruel and senseless,” Titus’ mother Jennifer Thompson-Brown told the court. “Although he was not the intended target, Shamoi Palmer went out that day with the intention of killing someone. Tragically, the life he took was my son Jermaine Titus.”
Natasha McLeish, the mother of Jermaine Titus’ son, wrote in her victim impact statement read by assistant Crown attorney Alice Bradstreet, “I am still in such disbelief — how the hell did this happen? We were not part of this lifestyle; we were never part of this life.
“I’m left wondering why this would happen to us. We never associated ourselves with violence. This was so foreign to both his family and my family.”
McLeish, like Titus’ mother, sister, uncle, and cousin, spoke about her pain and grief.
“We couldn’t make sense of it because he was such a quiet, hard-working guy. When we learned that he was not the intended target, the reality of this hurt us 10 times more because of the senselessness of the actions. He had absolutely no connection to his murderers,” Titus’ sister Deveen Thompson told the court.
Before handing down her sentence, Madam Justice Kelly Byrne asked Palmer if he had anything to say to the court. He declined. Bradstreet requested that Palmer submit a DNA sample, have a weapons prohibition for life, and have no contact with Morgan’s and Titus’ family.
Palmer’s lawyer, Glen Orr, told Justice Byrne his client questioned the no-contact order with Egypt Morgan. Orr argued that Palmer would not be staying in a five-star hotel, that it would have no impact on the community and that it was clear that Morgan still has feelings for Palmer. Byrne declined Orr’s request and made the no-contact order.
Palmer was led out of the courtroom as the Titus family watched. Outside court, Titus’ mother, Jennifer Thompson-Brown, remarked, “They showed no remorse inside there. The only time I saw that girl, the girlfriend cry was when that boy, the boyfriend, Palmer, was being taken away.”
A sentencing date for Egypt Morgan will be set next month.