Wall of silence crumbled on accused killer of four, Toronto police say

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If police are right, Mark Garfield Moore is one of the most prolific and vicious killers ever to stalk Toronto, gunning down four men in three months and opening fire everywhere from school playgrounds to apartment building parking lots.

Most of the dead are people with no criminal past, leaving investigators at a loss to explain the senseless slayings. And it may have been this fact, combined with the 27-year-old's apparent notoriety, that allowed police to collar him.

Members of the public were so outraged at seeing innocent people killed, they inundated detectives with tips, breaking the no-snitching rule that pervades the city's toughest communities, sources said. This gives police hope they can finally breach the wall of silence that so often makes it impossible to solve crime in the neighbourhoods worst affected by them.

"I also know that these crimes can have a tremendous impact on the communities in which they occur, they cause people to become fearful, people to be afraid to go out and use public spaces," Chief Bill Blair said Wednesday morning in announcing Mr. Moore's charges, 56 in all.

Police said they also busted up a firearm-trafficking ring that was allegedly selling weapons to Mr. Moore, along with a drug-dealing operation based out of Greenbrae Circuit, a street of apartment blocks and townhomes in Scarborough where many of the shootings occurred.

Mr. Moore's lawyer said her client only found out about the charges shortly before the police made them public, as he arrived from a jail cell to court on a different matter.

"He learned about it when he was brought to Scarborough court this morning, unannounced, to either himself or me," said Cheryl Robb, adding that Mr. Moore will be pleading not guilty. "I'm very disappointed that nobody had the courtesy to contact me first."

Mr. Moore is accused of taking part in numerous drive-by shootings, a holdup and other incidents involving guns, most of them during a brief period in the summer and fall of last year. Unfolding primarily in Scarborough and the Weston area, they include the attempted murder of a 28-year-old man in a laneway and the robbery of an Eglinton Avenue jewellery store where a clerk was shot.

The first victim to die was 27-year-old Jahmeel Spence, a father of two with no criminal record. He was returning home from buying juice for his children on the evening of Sept. 10, 2010, when someone shot him off Greenbrae Circuit. Police say it was a case of mistaken identity.

Three weeks later, on Sept. 29, Courthney Facey, 18, and Mike James, 23, were enjoying a night out on Weston Road when a black SUV rolled out of a nearby alley. Someone in the vehicle opened fire, killing both men. Neither Mr. Facey, a high-school student, nor Mr. James, an apprentice chef, had any prior contact with police. More than a year later, officers say they still have no idea why they were killed.

Police say the only one of Mr. Moore's alleged victims he had a motive to kill was Carl Cole. The 45-year-old had allegedly become entangled in a dispute with Mr. Moore and, late in the afternoon of Nov. 24 was shot dead by two men in a parking lot on Greenbrae Circuit. The killers made off with his car, found abandoned the next day.

Six days later, Mr. Moore was charged with possessing cocaine and marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.

He was back on the street when bullets rang out at a Richmond Street nightclub in March of this year. Arrested shortly after, he has been in custody ever since. It was then that investigators began to link the homicides and shootings the previous year.

Police used everything from wiretaps to surveillance to jailhouse informants to develop the case. Mr. Moore's mother, Hyacinth Moore, had her house and car searched repeatedly.

On Wednesday, Ms. Moore did not respond to requests for comment. The families of Mr. Moore's alleged victims were also quiet. They were informed of the charges just before the police news conference, which many attended, but did not speak with reporters afterward.

"Me ranting and going on, I don't think that would help in any way right now," said Mr. James's mother, Joanna Simmons.

Mr. Moore and his family have been on police radar for years. As a 16-year-old, he took a bullet to the face at an apartment building on Weston Road. Weeks later, plainclothes Constable Tony Macias was shot in the shoulder nearby, an incident in which Mr. Moore's older brother, André, was a suspect. He was never convicted. Seven years later, another brother was shot outside a high school, but survived.

André Moore was shot dead on Oct. 14, 2008. Kenya Smith, charged with the slaying, testified that Andre Moore was a drug dealer who fired a gun at him during an unsuccessful robbery attempt in the lobby of a Scarborough apartment building.

Mr. Smith told his ongoing trial that he was scared of André and Mark Moore, who he said had a reputation for being "crazy." He said in court that he feared if he told police about his run-in with André, Mark Moore would come after him.

Mark Moore was also an up-and-coming hip-hop artist. Performing under the name Prezidenteeh, he had just released an album, Election Year. In low-budget videos on YouTube, he raps about money while throwing wads of $100 bills on a table and flashing a bulky gold necklace.

One of his musical cohorts, Kevin William, also faces charges. Known by the stage name Mayhem Morearty, the 31-year-old is charged with taking part in the jewellery-store robbery last summer.

Police say more alleged accomplices are likely to be charged in the coming weeks and that investigators are looking through other homicides to see if there are links.

There is also reason for optimism after so many citizens stepped forward to help them.

"You can gain a lot of notoriety as a criminal on the streets of Toronto for killing people," said Detective-Sergeant Hank Idsinga, who led the probe. "But if you kill people who aren't involved in the game, you're not going to get protected."

With reports from Tu Thanh Ha, Rick Cash, Timothy Appleby and Kim Mackrael

Two brothers of the accused

Andre Moore

Andre Moore was shot dead in October, 2008. The 27-year-old had a criminal record for weapons convictions. He was found in a laneway near Markham Road and Eglinton Avenue East. He was also suspected of being the gunman who seriously wounded Toronto police officer Tony Macias in December, 2001.

Taimone Moore

Taimone Moore was shot in a parking lot outside Bendale Business and Technical Institute in the city's east end in 2008, when he was 16. It was reported that he was taken to Sunnybrook Hospital with life-threatening injuries, but he recovered.

– Tu Thanh Ha and Carys Mills

The charges

1 - June 1, 2010, at 24 Poplar Rd.

An incident police described as a drive-by shooting. Mark Garfield Moore has been charged with mischief endangering life, discharging a firearm and endangering life and dangerous weapons.

2 - June 17, 2010, at 7 Denison Rd. E.

Another drive-by shooting just over two weeks later. Mr. Moore faces the same charges – mischief endangering life, discharging a firearm and endangering life and dangerous weapons.

3 - July 8, 2010, at 50 Tuxedo Ct.

Police allege a gunshot was fired through the door of an apartment. Mr. Moore is charged with mischief endangering life, discharging a firearm and endangering life and dangerous weapons.

4 - July 29, 2010, at 80 Slan Ave.

A firearm was allegedly discharged in a schoolyard. Mr. Moore faces a dangerous weapons charge.

5 - Aug. 5, 2010, at 90 Greenbrae Circuit

A 28-year-old man was shot multiple times in a laneway. Mr. Moore is charged with attempted murder while using a firearm.

6 - Aug. 9, 2010, at 660 Eglinton Ave. E.

A clerk was shot in the arm and leg during an armed robbery at a jewellery store. Two people were charged previously, and Mr. Moore is now charged with robbery while armed with a firearm, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, aggravated assault, disguise with intent, discharging a firearm and endangering life, use of a firearm to commit an indictable offence and pointing a firearm.

7 - Sept. 10, 2010, at 30 Greenbrae Circuit

Jahmeel Spence, a 27-year-old father of two with no criminal record, was gunned down in a laneway. He was on his way home after buying juice for his children. Mr. Moore has been charged with first-degree murder.

8 - Sept. 29, 2010, at 1798 Weston Rd.

Courthney Facey, 18, and Mike James, 23, were killed in a laneway drive-by shooting that police say has no "rhyme or reason." Mr. Moore has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

9 - Oct. 9, 2010, at 30 Highcastle Rd.

A firearm was discharged in a schoolyard. Mr. Moore is charged with discharging a firearm and endangering life, mischief endangering life and dangerous weapons.

10 - Oct. 20, 2010, at 3304 Danforth Ave.

A drive-by shooting in which no one was injured. Mr. Moore is charged with discharging a firearm and endangering life, mischief endangering life and dangerous weapons.

11 - Nov. 24, 2010, at 65 Greenbrae Circuit

Carl Cole, 45, was killed in a shooting, and the suspect or suspects allegedly fled in his vehicle and later ditched it. Mr. Moore is charged with first-degree murder.

12 - March 11, 2011, at 261 Richmond St. W.

Shots were fired at a downtown nightclub and Mr. Moore was arrested a few days later. He has been in custody since then. Among the charges he's facing in relation to the nightclub shooting are using a firearm to commit an indictable offence and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.

– Carys Mills