Alleged gang leader arrested in slaying
Toronto man charged in 12-year-old Hamilton cold case
HAMILTON— Fresh information from witnesses to the 12-year-old killing of Michael Parmer, gunned down in an eastend 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. Dunkley is the alleged head of a northwest Toronto gang.
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 of an east-end Hamilton sports bar, where a crowd of 25 to 40 people had gathered after hours.
The 22-year-old 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.
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 the Hamilton 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 highranking member of a Rexdale street gang, according to Toronto Police information. Several media outlets have reported Toronto police alleging he was the head of the Monstarz gang.
He apparently also is known as the rapper J Noble.
Bereziuk said Dunkley had “gang affiliations in Hamilton” when Parmer was shot, but police do not believe the in- cident had anything to do with gang activity. Bereziuk stressed that Parmer was 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 a promising Hamilton basketball player, was gunned down inside a Brampton banquet hall at age 25 that same year.
Bereziuk wouldn’t comment on motive as the case is before the courts.
There is a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in this case.
The outstanding suspects are described as a black man in his early 20s at the time, about 5-feet-7 to 5-feet-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 1-800-222-8477.