Toronto man pleads guilty to manslaughter in deadly 2020 shooting spree

Global News

3 days ago

Elijah Simpson Sweeney, one of four suspects who walked into the courtyard of a North York housing complex and opened fire almost five years ago, killing an innocent man and wounding another, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and aggravated assault for his role in the apparent random shooting.
Simpson Sweeney, who is now 25 years old, was originally charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser charges.
Court heard he was not one of the shooters whose bullets struck 57-year-old Anthony Martin, who was killed, nor Taswrell Salmon, who survived. Both victims were among a group of people who were playing a game of dominoes at the time.
Simpson Sweeney has been in custody since Jan. 25, 2023, when he was arrested in North Bay by Peel Regional Police.
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According to an agreed statement of facts read out in a downtown courtroom on April 8, 2021, arrangements were made for Simpson Sweeney to attend a Toronto police station to turn himself in.
On that same day, he left his residence and cut the ankle monitor that he was required to wear as part of an existing release order he was bound by at the time. Simpson Sweeney did not attend the police station, and efforts to locate him were unsuccessful. On April 26, 2021, a warrant for his arrest for murder and attempted murder was issued.
The facts state that on Sept. 24, 2020, during a span of two hours, there were three shootings in Toronto. Each shooting captured by video surveillance involved four masked men, at least three of them armed with firearms, travelling in a Toyota Corolla bearing a Pennsylvania licence plate.
Simpson Sweeney was one of the involved masked males in the final shooting at 89 Gosford Blvd., but the only man in the group carrying a shotgun.
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Video surveillance showed at least three of the four males carrying firearms, including Simpson Sweeney. The group fired numerous shots in the direction of the individuals in the courtyard. Martin was shot in the left buttock. The bullet travelled upwards and caused fatal hemorrhaging. Martin was pronounced dead at the scene. Salmon was shot underneath his right knee. He was rushed to hospital and survived, but the bullet remains in his leg.
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Thirteen shell casings, including one casing from a shotgun, were recovered at the scene in the area where the masked shooters stood.
'Sweeney Simpson was a member and active participant in the group whose actions resulted in the unlawful death of Mr. Anthony Martin and wounding of Mr. Taswrell Salmon. However, the bullet that killed Martin and injured Salmon did not originate from Simpson Sweeney's shotgun,' assistant crown attorney Robert Kenney told Superior Court Justice Robert Goldstein.
Just one hour prior, at 7:30 pm, there was a shooting at a townhouse complex at 185 Galloway Road. Video surveillance shows a Toyota Corolla driving slowly through the complex, following the path of travel of a male pedestrian walking towards a residential unit. The car then stops and a single masked man is observed hanging out of the rear passenger side window, firing several rounds from a handgun. Twenty-seven muzzle flashes were seen.
'During the shooting, the front passenger door of the Toyota Corolla swings open. As the Toyota Corolla exits the townhouse complex after the shooting, the front passenger door remains open, and the outline of a long-barreled firearm is visible,' said Kenney. Seven casings from a handgun were located at the scene. The male pedestrian was shot in the left buttocks and the upper leg.
An hour earlier, at 6:25 p.m. in the area of 130 Driftwood Avenue, video surveillance shows two males exiting the rear of the Toyota Corolla, armed with handguns. The males fired several shots before running back into the car. No one was injured in this incident.
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After the shooting on Gosford Boulevard, the suspects fled the scene in the Toyota Corolla, which was tracked to a townhouse complex on John Cabot Way. Five suspects can be seen later walking towards a building on Sheppard Ave West, including Simpson Sweeney, who walked with a straight and unbending leg, consistent with someone concealing a shotgun in their pant leg.
The five males were met by a sixth male who was later found to be a resident of the building. The sixth male provided a change of clothes to one of the suspects and took a pair of shoes from him. Later, that suspect was observed attending John Cabot Way, where the Toyota Corolla was parked. Moments later, the vehicle was set on fire.
When police later examined the torched vehicle, they found a spent casing that matched the bullet casings located on Gosford, Galloway and Driftwood.
In November 2020, Simpson Sweeney was arrested in relation to a separate investigation by Niagara police and later released on bail. At the time, investigators seized his cellphone. After receiving judicial authorization to search the contents of Simpson Sweeney's phone, they found several pieces of evidence to suggest he was involved with the fatal shooting on Sept. 24, 2020.
The cellphone contained directions from the area on Gosford Boulevard where the shooting happened to John Cabot Way, using the Waze application. It also contained screenshots of various news reports detailing the homicide investigation, along with screenshots of Martin and the vehicle of interest released to the media the day after the homicide.
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Goldstein has ordered a Morris report at the request of defence counsel Michael Coristine. The judge told court it could delay sentencing since the report, which considers how anti-black racism should be considered in sentencing, typically takes about a year to complete. Coristine said his client understood that.
A 17-year-old boy has already pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in relation to the shooting of Martin. In December 2022, the teen was sentenced to the maximum sentence for a youth, seven years in prison. He also admitted to being at all three shootings.
Two other shooters and the getaway driver have not been identified. The sixth man, also a teen who admitted to setting the suspect vehicle on fire, pleaded guilty to accessory to murder.