Victim Gunned Down Outside Jail Was Charged During Jane Creba Shooting

A brazen murder that’s already left a Toronto neighbourhood in shock has taken another dramatic twist – the victim was among those charged in the Boxing Day shooting of 15-year-old Jane Creba in 2005.

Eric Boateng had just left the Don Jail after visiting an inmate at the Broadview and Gerrard facility when he was confronted by another man. The suspect suddenly pulled out a gun and pointed it straight at the 21-year-old. Reports indicate a chase ensued that led onto nearby Simpson Ave. where the victim was hit by the fatal bullets. Boateng eventually collapsed on a nearby lawn and subsequently died from his wounds.

Cops say it’s possible the killing was a targeted assassination but they’re still trying to find a direct motive for the violence.

A suspect was seen running away down Hamilton St. south of Gerrard, and an SUV was spotted speeding away from the area, but authorities still aren’t sure if the car and the crime are connected. The shooter is described as:

• Black,
• 20s,
• Medium build,
• 5’8″-6′.

He was wearing a puffy, shiny black bomber-style jacket with dark baggy pants and a dark hat.

There is speculation that Boateng was the victim of a so-called ‘call down’, where a victim is set up for murder after being called to visit an imate.

“Who would have known of the visit to the jail? It does seem like a call-down,” said lawyer Selwyn Pieters, who worked as a guard in the Don Jail before becoming an attorney.

Pieters’ client, Richard Steele, also says he fears for his life because he has to testify in the Creba trial.

Police allege the deadly shoot-out was triggered by the theft of Steele’s cell phone and that he was the intended target. He was in fact hit by a bullet, but didn’t go to hospital.

Pieters ominously adds that Boateng isn’t the first person connected to the case to die.  Anthony Moodie, who was charged in connection with the shootout, has since passed away.  His death at age 27 remains shrouded in mystery.

“The first case, Moodie, he died under suspicious circumstances. It was dismissed as a suicide. The family disagreed with that finding,” said Pieters.  “His friend was killed three weeks later.”

Boateng was facing weapons and drug charges after he was arrested during raids stemming from the infamous Yonge Street shoot-out that brought Toronto’s terrible Year of the Gun to a fatal close. An autopsy is pending.

If you know who fired that shot, call the Homicide Squad at (416) 808-7400 or Crime Stoppers at (416) 222-TIPS.