One of three men on trial for the first-degree murder of 12-year-old Dante Andreatta, a North York boy who was struck by a stray bullet on Jane Street nearly five years ago, testified Wednesday that he has blood on his hands, knowing his actions caused the boy’s death.
Rashawn Chambers told a jury that on Nov. 8, 2020, he learned that three people had been shot and a 12-year-old had been struck by a stray bullet.
He said that the news came to him the day after he and his co-accused, Jahwayne Smart and Cjay Hobbs, were involved in a shooting in a parking lot near Jane Street and Finch Avenue.
“He (Andreatta) died on the 11th, and I was charged with first-degree murder; he told me I was charged with killing a 12-year-old. It was the worst thing of my life. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t eat food. I was in distress. He was walking with his mom to McDonald’s, and he got shot. I was disgusted with myself. I couldn’t believe I had caused the death of a 12-year-old,” said Chambers.
Andreatta’s aunt, who was sitting in the body of the courtroom, was crying as she listened to Chambers’ testimony.
“I thought my life was in danger,” said Chambers. “I thought I was being shot at. It happened so fast. I wish that never happened. I wish the car ran me over because a 12-year-old boy would still be alive, and I chose the wrong path in my life. I will deal with the consequences of my actions. That’s the truth.”
Wearing a light grey suit, white shirt and grey tie, and glasses, his short hair braided in tight cornrows, Chambers testified that he began dealing drugs at the age of 16 and was making $500 to $1,000 a day selling heroin and crack cocaine. He told court he grew up with a single mother in the Jane-Finch neighbourhood, where “guys selling drugs and brandishing guns was a normal thing”.
A high-school dropout, Chambers testified he bought a gun for $4,000 in 2019 from a friend named Jack and had the gun until he got arrested in November 2020. Chambers explained that he needed the gun for protection and said it had a switch on it could be turned on or off, enabling it to fire automatically.
“You never know what you’re walking into, you never know the mentality somebody has when you’re dealing with drugs,” he testified.
Chambers also told the jury that Jahwayne Smart is his cousin. When Chambers was 14 years old, while staying with Smart’s family in Regent Park, Chambers said Smart was shot three times when bullets came flying into Smart’s room. Chambers said both he and Smart loved to play basketball, and he believed that Smart was getting scouted for the NBA, but after the shooting, they both lost their love of the sport.
Chambers described Smart as a brother and said the two would deal drugs together. “He took the same path that I did, so our bond was the same way.”
Chambers told court that he has two separate convictions for possessing drugs for the purpose of trafficking. In October 2018, he was sentenced to six months in jail after 54 months in pre-trial custody. He was also given a mandatory weapons prohibition. In January 2019, he was also convicted of assault and given a suspended sentence.
The jury has heard it is an admitted fact that Smart was the second shooter the day Andreatta was fatally shot.
Chambers, 29, testified he and Hobbs, who has admitted to being the driver on the day Andretta was shot, have been friends since grade school and said he provided the stolen Honda Accord on the day of the shooting. Chambers told the jury that Hobbs’ business is stealing cars.
“That’s a common thing he does. He always has a car on standby that’s available,” Chambers explained.
Chambers said the trio was planning to go to 25 Stong Court at 2 p.m. because Hobbs had set up a deal to sell a kilogram of cocaine for $60,000 to a man from London. “We were going to rip him off. We were going to sell him fake cocaine,” said Chambers, explaining there was a shortage of the drug at the time due to the coronavirus. The man from London was someone Chambers said they had never met before.
Chambers said the man they were looking for was known as K.D., and he would be in a silver Nissan.
When they arrived, Chambers testified they noticed a silver car with two men inside but it was a silver Honda. He said Hobbs drove up behind the car and noticed the window was rolled down. The man sitting in the passenger seat was pointing down. Chambers said he didn’t know why he was doing that.
Chambers testified he did not believe it was the car they were looking to do the drug deal with because it wasn’t a Nissan and the two or three people he could see inside the car seemed a bit young.
Chambers said Hobbs believed they were the buyers and to settle their disagreement, Chambers said he and Smart got out of the car to confirm they weren’t the buyers. He testified he suddenly heard Smart yell “what the f—?” Then he heard a shot and saw the car charging towards him.
“Now I’m thinking this car is shooting at me. I panicked. I freaked and I lost control. It just happened so fast. Just instant reflexes,” said Chambers.
Chambers’ lawyer Monte MacGregor asked what he was thinking when he heard Smart swearing, followed by a gunshot. Chambers responded, “These guys are trying to hurt or kill me. These guys just tried to shoot at Jahwayne. I was panicking. I was in shock.”
Video surveillance showed Chambers behind the rear of the car while Smart was near the front as the car drove off. Both men can be seen shooting toward the vehicle as it drives off. It is an agreed fact that both men discharged 18 rounds from their Glock-19 handguns.
“I wish I had never done that, but I was trying to defend myself,” said Chambers.
MacGregor asked Chambers if he was in control when he started shooting, to which Chambers replied, “At that time, no. Everything happened so fast.”
Deshaun Daley, the passenger who was sitting in the front passenger seat of the car, testified earlier in the trial that he and four friends were sitting in the car smoking weed when they saw a silver Honda Accord pull up. Daley believed they wanted to park in their parking spot.
Daley testified he then noticed a man wearing a mask with a bulge in his sweater. Paranoid, high on drugs and concerned due to the neighbourhood they were in, Daley said he pulled a pistol out of his waistband and pointed it out of the window to “scare them off.”
He did not testify to firing his gun; the 36 shell casings at the scene were linked to the two firearms found on two of the accused.
Daley testified that’s when all hell broke loose and shots began to fly. Daley was struck four times but survived.
The jury has heard that Daley, 22, is currently serving time in jail after being convicted on two counts of break and enter.
Chambers, Smart and Hobbs have all pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.
The trial continues.