Arrest made in 12-year-old Hamilton murder case
Fresh information from witnesses to the 12-year-old murder of Michael Parmer, gunned down in an east-end parking lot, has led to the arrest of the alleged shooter and a renewed vow from police to find two other people involved.
Jermaine Dunkley, who is charged with first-degree murder, briefly appeared in Hamilton court Monday.
The 32-year-old is from Toronto, but was living in Hamilton at the time of the Sept. 9, 2005 homicide.
For the first time, Palmer’s mother, Dorothy Harris, addressed the public during a news conference to announce the arrest Monday at Hamilton police headquarters.
Harris thanked police and said she believed justice was finally being met.
“Not a day goes by where I do not question why my son’s life was taken at the early age of 22,” she said, before asking for privacy for her family.
Homicide Det. Sgt. Steve Bereziuk thanked the community for “finding courage and bringing new information forward that has led to this arrest.”
Parmer was shot shortly after 3 a.m. in a parking lot at the northeast corner of Roxborough Avenue and Ottawa Street North, where a crowd of 25 to 40 people had gathered after leaving the nearby CD Sports Bar.
Parmer, from Niagara Falls, N.Y., died about 12 hours later.
In August, homicide detectives renewed a public appeal for witnesses to come forward in the case, adamant that people in Hamilton know who is responsible.
Bereziuk said he couldn’t detail what new information surfaced because the case is now before the courts, but noted circumstances in witnesses’ lives can change over the years.
“Time and distance can be an advantage for the investigation,” he said.
Hamilton police said they had cooperation from police in Kingston and Toronto.
Chief Eric Girt noted the message
this arrest sends about cold cases.
“This arrest is significant because it serves as a reminder no matter how much time passes, we remain vigilant in our pursuit of offenders.”
From the beginning of the investigation, police believed three people were directly involved in the murder — two men and one woman. Police said Dunkley is the first suspect, allegedly the shooter, they’ve been looking for.
Bereziuk said he was transferred from a Toronto detention centre to John Sopinka Courthouse Monday to face the murder charge in the Parmer case.
In Toronto, Dunkley has been behind bars after being charged in 2015 with first-degree murder in the 2013 shooting of Neeko Mitchell, 25, in Etobicoke, the detective said.
Bereziuk also alleged Dunkley is a high-ranking member of a street gang, according to Toronto Police. Media outlets have reported Toronto Police referring to him as head of the Monstarz gang. Bereziuk stressed the Parmer murder wasn’t gang affiliated, calling the victim a “good kid” with no criminal record.
Dunkley was once a promising high school basketball player at Cathedral High School in Hamilton. When he was arrested on drug charges, he lost a scholarship to a college in Nebraska. At the Barton jail, he and his then girlfriend were caught trying to smuggle $7,000 worth of marijuana into the detention centre. Dunkley did five years in prison for drug trafficking, bribery and weapons offences.
After police raids in the GTA in 2013, Dunkley faced more charges for trafficking and possession of proceeds of crime. His brother, Ricky, also once a promising Hamilton basketball player, was gunned down inside a Brampton banquet hall at age 25 that same year.
Parmer, a university-educated casino worker, had come to Hamilton with four friends for a Thursday hip hop music night at the former CD Sports Bar — a notorious east end bar that was shut down by the city two years after the shooting.
After the bar closed that night around 2 a.m., hundreds of patrons streamed out, with a group ending up in the strip mall parking lot at Roxborough and Ottawa where the shooting happened. Parmer’s friends were about to leave when they noticed he was missing and heard gunshots.
In 2007, police said they had a prime suspect — a man from Hamilton — but no one was charged until now. Police have said the suspects in this case were involved in the drug culture, but that the murder was not drug related. More likely there were words exchanged that were taken out of context, a now retired homicide unit detective told The Spectator in 2007. Bereziuk wouldn’t comment on motive with the case before the courts.
There is a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. The outstanding suspects are described as a black man in his early 20s at the time, about five-foot-seven to five-foot-10, weighing 170 pounds. He may have worn camouflage pants. The woman was described as white, with light hair and younger than the men. Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Sgt. Jon Murphy at 905-546-2288. To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800222-8477.
No matter how much time passes, we remain vigilant in our pursuit of offenders. POLICE CHIEF ERIC GIRT