Suspect Surrenders Following Teen’s Murder
Posted May 18, 2010 6:28 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A young man suspected of murdering a 15-year-old boy turned himself in to police Tuesday after giving them the slip earlier in the day.
Sheronnie Thomas, 18, was wanted on an arrest warrant for first-degree murder after 15-year-old Devonte Gondwe-Prosper, also known as “Bug-zee,” was shot in the head when he answered a knock at the door of a friend’s apartment above DJ Records & Clothing at 2508 Eglinton Ave. W., near Keele, around 2am Monday.
“All they did was ring the buzzer. I buzzed them in and Bug-zee was looking through the peephole to see who it was, and he opened the door,” the friend said.
“I’m the one who saw him get shot … He loved to laugh. He had the brightest smile and the loudest laugh.”
Det. John Biggerstaff said the positive response from local residents helped police identify the suspect.
Biggerstaff said the victim and suspect were acquaintances and this is potentially an isolated incident caused by some kind of dispute. He added there’s no evidence to suggest this has any link to gang activity or the massive police guns and gangs sweep, dubbed Project Corral, earlier this month.
Investigators were out in force in the Keele and Eglinton neighbourhood early Tuesday morning searching for Thomas, even calling in a York Regional Police helicopter, but the suspect apparently evaded authorities by slipping out the back door of a home on Donald Avenue, a few blocks away from the scene of the murder.
Several hours later, Thomas turned himself in to 52 Division and has been charged with first-degree murder. He will appear in court Wednesday morning.
The shooting marks the city’s 16th homicide of the year.
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Anyone with information should contact police at 416-808-7400, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at www.222tips.com, or text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637).
