Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Video Footage Shows A Toronto Murder In Progress


Tuesday June 24, 2008

CityNews.ca Staff
It appears to be a well planned murder, perfectly executed.
And now Toronto Police - and you - have a pretty good idea of exactly how it happened.

Cops have released security video of a killing in progress, and it appears there were two people involved in the murder of a 19-year-old Toronto man.

It was an act the lead detective calls "an execution" that the victim "never saw coming."
It happened around 1:30am on June 15th, at a pizza parlour at 761 Jane St. near St. Clair, when Claudio Andres Alamos came out of the restaurant to eat his meal on a bench outside the door.
From out of nowhere, a figure approached out of the darkness, pulled a gun and opened fire. The teen succumbed to a single bullet wound and was pronounced dead in hospital.
The video, taken from inside the store and at a nearby building located at 200 Woolner Ave., shows one man inside the restaurant who appears to be signaling to another suspect outside that it's time to make the hit.

At that point, the unknown second man walks up to Alamos and pulls the trigger, before both flee the scene and disappear into the night.
Det. Steve Ryan outlines the sequence of events that took place leading up to the crime.
"What I believe happened is suspect number 2 leaves Woolner and he leaves the building. At 1:28am, he enters the pizza shop. He doesn't ... order any food, and sits down, and looking right at our deceased ... He reaches into his sock. Comes up to his mouth, and at the same time, suspect 1 rounds the corner and shoots our deceased ... one time."

Ryan believes the item in the sock was a cell phone that the second man used to contact the shooter, pointing out the perfect time to catch Alamos unaware. And cops are certain he succeeded. "He was sitting outside of the pizza shop and eating a slice of pizza, and had no idea. Didn't see it coming," he relates.

"I think it was an execution ... committed in our streets. You know, this is what concerns me is that there were 12 people in front of that place and it could have been worse and other people injured and killed for that matter."
Alamos was a troubled kid who insisted on leaving home at age 16. It's believed he became involved in a gang known as The Latin Kings, which could have played a factor in his demise.
But Ryan still isn't sure of the reason he was targeted. "He was no choir boy, for sure," the detective admits. "But having said that, he deserves more than that, and he doesn't deserve to be gunned down in the streets."
Cops have only a limited description of the shooter and the signaler, and think it's possible they may live nearby and are familiar with the area. Their best clues aren't the usual kinds you'll generally find in this kind of case.
Both suspects were black in their 20s, and witnesses told police the thing they remember best about the shooter was what he was wearing. "[They] were described as ugly checkered red shorts knee length in size," Ryan outlines. "I am hoping someone recognizes the shorts, and you can't miss them."

The second man may be better known by the company he keeps. Cops say he's dating a white woman who has two children of her own and is known in the community.
It's a racially charged fact to release, but Ryan thinks it's necessary. "I'm certain that will lead us to the identity," he explains.
If you think you know either suspect, call the Homicide Squad at (416) 808-7400 or Crime Stoppers at (416) 222-TIPS.
Francis D'Souza will walk you through the video and show you the clues to a killing in progress on CityNews at Five and Six.
See the video here.

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