3 found guilty of 1st-degree murder in shooting death of 17-year-old Jarryl Hagley
Hagley was in a Pizza Pizza on Weston Road near Lawrence Avenue in October 2016 when he was gunned down
Three men have been found guilty of first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of a teenager inside a Pizza Pizza in 2016.
Jarryl Hagley, 17, was shot in the early morning hours of Oct. 16, 2016 at the pizza shop at 1937 Weston Rd., near Lawrence Avenue West.
He was eating with friends when the gunmen entered the restaurant. The men opened fire in Hagley's direction, and he tried to take cover in a washroom. He was wounded, however, and taken to hospital, where he died of his injuries.
Twins Lenneil Shaw and Shakiyl Shaw, both 25, and Mohamed Ali-Nur, 21, were convicted on Thursday. A fourth man who was with the group told police he didn't know the shooting was going to happen.
Winston Poyser became the Crown's key witness, testifying against the Shaw twins and Ali-Nur.
The victim's mother Delma Hagley thanked Poyser after the verdict for giving evidence that led to the convictions.
"He put his life on the risk for my son to bring justice and I am very grateful," she said.
But lawyers for the convicted men said outside the courtroom they were shocked by the verdict and say they will appeal.
All had argued Poyser could not be believed. He had originally been charged with first-degree murder along with the Shaw brothers and Ali Nur, but later pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact.
"In my view, there was no credible evidence," said Margaret Bojanowska, Ali-Nur's defence lawyer.
"Winston Poyser lied repeatedly to the jury... He had lied to police," she added.
"On the night of the incident, he was extremely intoxicated and very high. His memory was very unreliable and all of that put to together was very very weak evidence."
Sharon Shaw, the mother of the twins, sobbed uncontrollably when she learned her sons Lenneil and Shakiyl will spend at least 25 years in prison. She believes Poyser pointed the finger at her sons because he was afraid to identify the real killers.
"Winston Poyser, why you lying about my children? And the real killers are out there," she said outside the courtroom.
"Oh, my god ... My twins."
But Homicide Det. Jason Shankaran said the right people were convicted and there was more evidence besides Poyser's testimony.
"I've seen many witnesses testify, and no witness is perfect, but I believe Winston Poyser was telling the truth," he said.
"This wasn't just a case of a single witness coming forward and pointing the finger."
The Crown argued Lenneil Shaw and Ali-Nur fired into the Pizza Pizza at Hagley. Shakiyl Shaw drove the get away car.
A sentencing hearing will be held on June 4 where Delma Hagley will be able to tell the judge how the loss of her 17- year-old son has impacted her life.
"It brings some sort of closure to me but it doesn't change the fact that I will never be able to see my son again," she said.
"I will never be able to tell him I love him again, I will never be able to tell him I miss you. I will never be able to get a text back from him. I will never be able to hear, 'Mommy, I love you,'" Hagley added.
"It's not something that I am really rejoicing over today."