Mississauga woman, Toronto man sentenced over shooting death in Etobicoke
Published November 1, 2022 at 8:20 pm
A woman from Mississauga and a man from Toronto have been sentenced to two years and nine years respectively for the shooting death of a man in Etobicoke two years ago.
Anthony Johnson and Alyshia Smith were both convicted in connection to the 2020 death of Deandre Campbell-Kelly.
Johnson had been charged with second-degree murder, but the jury decided to reduce the charge to manslaughter. Smith, meanwhile, was charged with accessory to manslaughter after the fact. Both were later convicted by Justice J. Kelly.
The charges spawn from an altercation in Etobicoke. Prior to this fight, Johnson and Campbell-Kelly already knew each other. The two had gotten into a fight on Nov. 29, 2014, during which Johnson slashed Campbell-Kelly’s face, resulting in 15 stitches and a visible scar.
Years later, on Feb. 7, 2020, Johnson and Smith were walking down The West Mall in Etobicoke to visit friends. Johnson was armed with a pistol hidden in a cross-body satchel under his coat.
The pair coincidentally bumped into Campbell-Kelly. He and Johnson had seen each other since the slashing, but no more violence had occurred between the pair.
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This time, however, Campbell-Kelly body-checked Johnson, and the two began to argue, Kelly’s sentencing decision reads. Johnson realized at this point the man he was arguing with was Campbell-Kelly, who lunged at Johnson and grabbed him by the throat.
Johnson made for his gun and shot Campbell-Kelly in the lower gut. Following the gunshot, the two continued to struggle, but the gunshot wound and successive strikes to the face and chest left Campbell-Kelly dazed. He soon stopped fighting back.
While Kelly concluded Johnson did not know if Campbell-Kelly was armed at the time of the shot, the judge found he must have soon realized his opponent was unarmed during the fight.
After Campbell-Kelly ceased to struggle, Johnson grabbed his gun and ran away from the scene. Meanwhile, the bullet had severed Campbell-Kelly’s common iliac artery, which carries blood down the belly to supply the legs and pelvis.
With this artery severed, Campbell-Kelly quickly bled out internally.
Meanwhile, Johnson and Smith fled to their car and Smith drove toward Ajax. The pair found out that Campbell-Kelly had died on the way.
After hearing of Campbell-Kelly’s death, Smith drove Johnson to a wooded area to dispose of the gun, Johnson’s clothes and his cell phone. Smith also changed clothes before continuing the trip to Ajax, where they spent the night.
The next day, they fled back to their apartment, packed up clothes in garbage bags, loaded them in the car, and cut Johnson’s hair. The day after that, the pair fled to a Mississauga Motel 6 registered under Smith’s name.
The pair planned on heading to a cottage outside of Orangeville and were packing up to leave the following morning. However, they were arrested before they could get away.
Johnson was charged with second-degree murder and Smith with accessory. However, as noted, the murder charges were later reduced to manslaughter as Kelly concluded, “Johnson did not intend to kill Mr. Campbell-Kelly; he acted to defend himself from Mr. Campbell-Kelly’s threat or use of force and that the decision to use his firearm was unreasonable in the circumstances.”
Since the gun was an “unreasonable” use of force, Johnson’s self-defence claim was unsuccessful.
Johnson has a record of violence stretching back to his time in high school. He completed only his Grade 11 education before he was expelled for fighting. He claims these fights were a result of standing up to bullies. He held several jobs since, some of which he was fired from. Johnson and Smith moved in together when Johnson was 21.
Two years later, at age 23, Johnson was fully supporting himself by selling drugs. He started carrying a gun four years earlier after he was shot. He was near Rathburn Road in 2016 when a car pulled up and a man with a shotgun fired at him. A pellet struck him in the leg.
Prior to this incident, Johnson had been present at a drive-by shooting in The West Mall in which no one was hurt. Following that, he heard gunshots in a park, also in The West Mall, while running away.
After his arrest, Johnson remained in custody at the Toronto South Detention Centre (TSDC), while Smith was released into house arrest.
Following their conviction for their respective offences, Kelly was left to decide their sentences. Manslaughter carries a very broad potential sentence from the four-year minimum all the way to life imprisonment, depending on the circumstances.
Kelly decided on a nine-year sentence total. Since Johnson remained in custody pending his conviction, he was credited with 49 months of time served. As a result, he will remain behind bars for a further four years and 11 months. Following his release, he plans to move in with his father in New Brunswick and take up a trade or earn his GED.
Smith, meanwhile, was sentenced to two years. However, given her time in custody and house arrest, she received 19.5 months of time-served credit. She will remain in custody for an additional 4.5 months.
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