The man charged in the 2018 shooting deaths of Toronto rapper Smoke Dawg and Prime Boys' assistant manager Ernest 'Kosi' Modekwe has been found guilty of murder.
Abdulkadir Handule was found guilty on two counts of second-degree murder, in addition to aggravated assault and discharge of a firearm, by a jury in Ontario Superior Court last Thursday (February 24).
Handule's lawyer, Dirk Derstine, said Handule and his family are "deeply disappointed in the verdict" in a statement to CBC News, adding that his client has requested that he begin the appeal process. The broadcaster notes that Handule, who performed and recorded as 21 Neat, will be sentenced May 27 at 10 a.m. ET.
Previously, Handule pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and related charges. His trial began last November, following his August 2019 arrest by RCMP officers in British Columbia on unrelated charges.
Smoke Dawg, born Jahvante Smart, was a member of Regent Park rap collective Halal Gang who collaborated with the likes of Skepta, Murda Beatz and French Montana. Notably, the artist performed alongside Drake on the Toronto star's "Boy Meets World" European tour.
Modekwe, also known as Koba Prime, was memorialized on Prime Boys' 2018 album Koba World. "We just wanted to dedicate the album to [Kosi], because if it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be doing this. He was the one who always said we should be making music together," the group's Jimmy Prime told Exclaim! that year.
Both Halal Gang and Prime would perform and release music together as Full Circle. Smoke Dawg's debut full-length, Struggle Before Glory, arrived in 2018. The album featured collaborations with Giggs, Puffy L'z, Fredo, Jay Critch, AJ Tracey, Jimmy Prime, Jay Whiss, SAFE and Smoke Dawg's younger brother, Young Smoke.
Abdulkadir Handule was found guilty on two counts of second-degree murder, in addition to aggravated assault and discharge of a firearm, by a jury in Ontario Superior Court last Thursday (February 24).
Handule's lawyer, Dirk Derstine, said Handule and his family are "deeply disappointed in the verdict" in a statement to CBC News, adding that his client has requested that he begin the appeal process. The broadcaster notes that Handule, who performed and recorded as 21 Neat, will be sentenced May 27 at 10 a.m. ET.
Previously, Handule pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and related charges. His trial began last November, following his August 2019 arrest by RCMP officers in British Columbia on unrelated charges.
Smoke Dawg, born Jahvante Smart, was a member of Regent Park rap collective Halal Gang who collaborated with the likes of Skepta, Murda Beatz and French Montana. Notably, the artist performed alongside Drake on the Toronto star's "Boy Meets World" European tour.
Modekwe, also known as Koba Prime, was memorialized on Prime Boys' 2018 album Koba World. "We just wanted to dedicate the album to [Kosi], because if it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be doing this. He was the one who always said we should be making music together," the group's Jimmy Prime told Exclaim! that year.
Both Halal Gang and Prime would perform and release music together as Full Circle. Smoke Dawg's debut full-length, Struggle Before Glory, arrived in 2018. The album featured collaborations with Giggs, Puffy L'z, Fredo, Jay Critch, AJ Tracey, Jimmy Prime, Jay Whiss, SAFE and Smoke Dawg's younger brother, Young Smoke.