A trip to a casino, a poker game, drinks and lap dances at a strip club were part of an undercover Mr. Big operation that led Toronto police to arrest two of three suspects wanted for the beating death of a 25-year-old man almost three years ago.Details of the elaborate sting — and the unusual legal challenges it created — were kept from a jury that this week convicted two men accused in the midtown attack that killed Zaher (Zack) Noureddine, 26, on Dec. 30, 2015.Jurors were not told the Mr. Big operation resulted in a confession by one of the accused, nor that a judge last month declared a mistrial after prosecutors played an earlier jury a video she ruled had not been properly introduced into evidence. They also didn’t hear about all the entries on the trio’s rap sheets, nor details of an outstanding robbery charge that the Crown argues has similar facts to the Noureddine killing.On Thursday, Patrick Smith, 28, was acquitted of first-degree murder but found guilty of second-degree murder. His co-accused, Matthew Moreira, 34, was convicted of manslaughter. Smith was also convicted of assaulting Mitchell Conery, Noureddine’s co-worker, while Moreira was found guilty of robbing Conery.William Cummins, 32, still faces a first-degree murder charge and robbery charge. He and Moreira are also charged with committing a violent robbery weeks before about 100 metres from where Noureddine was killed.Read more:Two men found guilty in midtown beating death of Zack Noureddine, a complete strangerJudge declares mistrial in Toronto murder case, ruling Crown should not have played videos to juryFather convicted in girls’ deaths to go free after Supreme Court rulingOn Dec. 30, 2015, Noureddine and Conery were in business attire and had just left a restaurant near Yonge St. and Eglinton Ave. when they were confronted by three strangers who had spent the evening boozing and doing drugs. Conery testified he was knocked to the ground and held the ...
|
