Authorities confirmed they have arrested one of two suspects in Smoke Dawg's 2018 murder case.
According to the CBC, Abdulkadir Handule appeared in Toronto court Thursday to face two first-degree murder charges in connection to the fatal shootings of Smoke Dawg—legal name Jahvante Smart—and Ernest Modekwe, a music brand manager known as Koba Prime. Authorities said the men and one woman were shot at around 8 p.m. on June 30, 2018, outside the Cube Nightclub on Toronto's Queen Street West. The female victim survived the attack; Smoke Dawg and Prime were pronounced dead shortly after.
"The scene just turned chaotic," one witness told CP24 at the time. "There were people running everywhere, there were vehicles just trying to get out of the way. Down on Peter Street we just saw a mass of tourists—normal Saturday traffic on Queen Street—basically running scared for their lives. It was intense, it was very chaotic."
Following the shooting, Toronto police issued nationwide warrants for Handule and his suspected 16-year-old accomplice. The teenager is still at large and cannot be publicly identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
The CBC reports Handule was turned over to Toronto police after he was arrested last month in Burnaby, British Columbia, on unrelated charges of kidnapping and forcible confinement. Handule is expected to reappear in court via video link on Sept. 11.
Following Smoke Dawg's murder, many fans and fellow artists paid tribute to the rapper online. Drake, who toured with Smoke Dawg on the 2017 Boy Meets World trek, shared the following statement following the tragic news.
