Drive-by crossfire killed commuter, prosecutor says
Restaurant worker was just passing by, murder trial hears
Jermaine Titus was driving along Weston Road through morning rush hour on Aug. 22, 2018, when a bullet shattered the window of his vehicle, killing him instantly.
On Friday, a Toronto jury heard the Crown’s theory on who ended the life of the 32-year-old father, who worked in the restaurant industry.
The Crown is alleging that Shamoi Palmer, 27, with his on-again-offagain girlfriend Egypt Morgan, 23, “worked together to find their target, to shoot him, and to evade police,” prosecutor Alice Bradstreet said in her opening address.
But Titus was not their target, she said.
They were intending to kill a man nicknamed “Skeeno,” but “mistakenly killed an innocent man who was simply driving down the street — caught in a crossfire he knew nothing about.”
Both have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. In court Friday morning, they stared blankly listening to Bradstreet: Palmer, wearing a blue suit jacket, white turtleneck, and gold wire-framed glasses; Morgan dressed in an oatmeal knit ensemble, her hair in cornrows, with two tiny buns on top of her head.
Outlining the Crown’s case, Bradstreet told the jury Morgan worked in a concession stand at Rogers Centre where she earned money to support Palmer, who lived with her part-time in an apartment on Emmett Avenue.
Palmer owned a .45-calibre semiautomatic handgun, and on the morning of Aug. 22, 2018, Morgan sent Palmer several texts alerting him that “Skeeno is in 711!” Bradstreet recounted as the messages popped up on courtroom monitors.
The prosecution will show video surveillance of Palmer running to the parking lot at 55 Emmett Ave., jumping in a silver Mazda SUV, and speeding down the street toward nearby Jane and Weston Road, the prosecutor said.
“As Mr. Palmer travelled to the intersection, Ms. Morgan kept him aware of Skeeno’s whereabouts,” she continued. The text, “he waiting for the 35 over the bridge,” flashed on the screens, followed by “blue sleeves.” Video surveillance that will be shown in court will show the silver Mazda turning a corner at Jane and Weston, passing by “Skeeno,” who ducked into an alley between two buildings.
“As the Mazda lined up with Skeeno — and Jermaine’s Lexus drove between them — a firearm can be seen coming from the driver’s side of the Mazda, pointed directly at Skeeno across three lanes of traffic. Bang, bang, bang,” Bradstreet said, thumping her fist on the lectern three times.
“Jermaine’s vehicle rolled to a stop, and the Mazda sped off to the northwest.”
Over the course of the next two days, Palmer’s cellphone download revealed his interest in the shooting on Weston, with multiple visits to the CP24 Twitter account. “Tweets and articles about Jermaine’s death were the main focus,” she said.
Morgan also sent him a video of Jermaine’s car at the scene that had been shared on social media.
Jurors can expect to hear evidence that the Mazda was a rental that Palmer returned that afternoon. A shell casing was located in the windshield of the returned car, and a forensic expert will testify about the DNA found on the steering wheel and its similarities to Palmer’s DNA.
As well, under the couch in the living room of Morgan’s home was the murder weapon, the Crown alleges. Forensic testing determined the gun is a match to a shell casing found at the scene as well as the casing found in the windshield, Bradstreet said.
Gunshot residue was also found on shorts and tank top seized from Palmer upon his arrest. As well, the rental contract for the Mazda used in the shooting was discovered in the pocket of the Nike shorts.
The trial continues in front of Superior Court Justice Kelly Byrne.