Second suspect in 2018 fatal shooting of Toronto rapper Smoke Dawg arrested in Alberta

Candles and a framed photograph of slain rapper Jahvante Smart are placed in the Metropolitan Church park during a vigil in Toronto on Monday, July 2, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

A traffic stop in Alberta earlier this week led to the arrest of a suspect who has been wanted since 2018 in connection with a triple shooting in downtown Toronto that left two men dead, including rapper Smoke Dawg.

RCMP officers were conducting a speed enforcement patrol on Monday in Airdrie, Alta., a city north of Calgary, when they observed a vehicle that was allegedly speeding and had an illegal window tint.

Police stopped the vehicle, which they said led to a further investigation indicative of proceeds of crime. Officers then decided to arrest the female driver and male passenger.

However, during the arrest, the man got out of the vehicle and fled on foot, police said. He was apprehended following a foot pursuit.

Police said officers searched the man and allegedly located a loaded .40 calibre firearm on him. He also allegedly provided a false identification.

When they determined his real identity, officers discovered the man was wanted on Canada-wide warrants for attempted murder and two counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of 21-year-old Jahvante “Smoke Dawg” Smart and 28-year-old Ernest “Koba Prime” Modekwe.

The shooting occurred on the evening of June 30, 2018, outside a nightclub near Queen Street West and Peter Street. A woman was also injured in the incident.

Smart was considered one of Toronto’s rising young rappers. He released his first single in 2015 and was on Drake’s Boy Meets World tour. Months after his death, a posthumous album, “Struggle Before Glory,” was released.

Modekwe was a music brand manager for a hip-hop collective.

One suspect, identified as Abdulkadir Handule, was arrested in July 2019 in Burnaby, B.C. In 2022, a jury found Handule guilty of two counts of second-degree murder.

The second suspect, who was 16 years old at the time of the shooting, evaded arrest until this week.

RCMP said they were not naming the suspect as his identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

He is facing 13 charges in connection with the traffic stop, including five counts of firearm offences, three counts of identity fraud charges, and two counts of resisting or obstructing a peace officer.

Toronto police confirmed to CP24 that he will be returned to the city.

Meanwhile, the female driver, identified as 25-year-old Alysha Chand of Burnaby, B.C., was charged with possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000 and counterfeit money.

With files from The Canadian Press