Toronto man faces 54 charges, including 4 first-degree murder

The streets of Toronto are safer, police say, after the arrest of a man allegedly responsible for four murders and a string of drive-by shootings.

Investigators made Mark Garfield Moore, 27, the target of Project Summit – a task force formed after a rash of shootings, mostly in the east end, between June and November 2010. Moore is facing a total of 54 charges, including four counts of first-degree murder, police said Wednesday at a news conference.

Three other men, whom police claim supplied Moore with guns, are also facing weapons trafficking charges. An additional three men were also arrested as part of an alleged drug ring in the Markham and Lawrence area. Authorities didn’t provide a reason for not releasing their names.

Police expect more arrests as the investigation continues.

The lead detective on the case, Det. Sgt. Hank Idsinga, said he’s never seen a suspect accused of four murders during his career.

Idsinga said he’s “at a loss to rationalize” the motivation behind such brazen and shocking crimes. He said Moore called himself a gangster but isn’t affiliated with any specific gang.

“To have him behind bars I think is saving lives and is saving a lot of injuries to people,” he said, adding the accusations against Moore have not yet been proven in court.

“We had a lot of community co-operation in this case,” Idsinga said.

The parents, siblings and children of the four victims sat in at the news conference Wednesday.

Police Chief Bill Blair extended his condolences to the families and said his officers are committed to keeping communities safe.

“[These crimes]cause people to become fearful, to be afraid to go out and use public spaces,” Blair said.

Moore was arrested during a court appearance Wednesday morning. He’s been in custody since last March after he was arrested for a separate shooting, unrelated to Project Summit, at a nightclub on Richmond Street.

Detectives fingered Moore as a possible suspect in the long list of shootings while investigating the murder of 45-year-old father of three Carl Cole, who was gunned down on Greenbrae Circuit, near Markham Road and Lawrence, on Nov. 24, 2010. Idsinga said Moore and Cole were involved in an unspecified dispute before the shooting.

Police are still looking for a second shooter in that case.

Investigators then started linking Moore to other shootings, including the deaths of three young men who Idsinga described as “innocent victims” with no criminal pasts.

Jahmeel Spence, 27, was shot to death on Greenbrae Circuit on Sept. 10, 2010. This was the second tragic loss for the Spence family. Jahmeel’s 15-year-old brother was stabbed to death at Kennedy subway station in 1996.

Idsinga said Spence’s targeted murder was a “case of mistaken identity.”

Nearly three weeks later, Courthney Facey, 18, and Mike James, 23, were gunned down on Weston near Lawrence while they were out picking up some food, Idsigna said.

Police claim Moore is responsible for the armed robbery of a jewellery store on Eglinton Avenue, near Bayview, in Aug. 2010. The clerk was shot.

Project Summit investigators also claim Moore is responsible for seven other shootings, including some drive-bys on Greenbrae Circuit, Denison Avenue, Poplar Road, Tuxedo Court, Highcastle Road and Danforth Avenue.

Map of locations of 2010 shootings disclosed by Toronto Police as part of Project Summit. Red markers indicate first-degree murder charges:

View Project Summit locations in a larger map