'Spider-man' takes stand in his own defence in grow-op murder trial
Shawn Vassel earned the nickname 'Spider-Man' a decade ago for his death-defying journey down the side of a Toronto apartment tower to evade police trying to arrest him for murder.
And this week Vassel took the stand in his own defense in another murder trial to tell an Ontario Superior Courtroom he's not a killer.
Vassel said he was just the lookout in a robbery of a grow-op in a commercial building on Millwork Drive and Millvan Drive in May 2019, and was surprised when someone handed him a gun.
He denied shooting anybody — except at the minivan that a video played in court shows driving at him shortly after the robbery is over.
“I saw him speeding, pedal to the metal, trying to hit me with his car…I was pointing the gun at him. He didn’t care, so I fired it,” Vassel testified.
But prosecutors said Vassel brought a gun to the grow-op robbery, and knew what he was doing in the attack, when Justin Kyle Ezeard was killed.
Frank Schembri says the video doesn’t show Vassel in shock, or fleeing after he dodges the speeding van — just walking calmly as he stuffs the gun into his pocket.
“He’s not worried, he’s not concerned, he has protection, which is his gun,” said crown attorney Frank Schembri.
The attack by the minivan was just another time Vassel dodged death. The 37-year-old is no stranger to close calls.
While fleeing police, accused of one murder in 2008, he climbed down 11 floors outside of his mother’s apartment tower at Jane and Finch. He was eventually captured at the nearby Jane Finch mall.
A bemused judge asked if he had “Spider-man webs” during his trial for the murder of Husam Dagheim in the parking lot of the Coliseum movie theatre near Square One in Mississauga. He was convicted in that case — but the conviction was overturned.
In July of 2019, he had his closest brush yet, shot in the back, and paralyzed from the waist down in a gun battle at Queen and Ossington, just a few months after the grow-op robbery. Three people died, and the neighbourhood was terrified.
The morning after the grow-op was robbed, one victim emerged bleeding from the head. He called 9-1-1 from a nearby cafe.
“I got a break-in, I got smashed in the head, knocked out, and, boom, I wake up, they tried to shoot me, I got out of the way, they shot someone else,” the man says on a 911 tape entered into exhibits.
Ezeard was killed. Police found his body found among the marijuana leaves.
Vassel told the court that Ezeard was actually a close friend.
It’s not clear who was driving the minivan.
Vassel faces charges of murder, discharge of firearm, robbery, and possession of firearms with ammunition.
Justice Todd Ducharme is now deliberating in the case.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
RCMP uncovers alleged plot by 2 Montreal men to illegally sell drones, equipment to Libya
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
Government agrees to US$138.7M settlement over FBI's botching of Larry Nassar assault allegations
The U.S. Justice Department announced a US$138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Man wanted in connection with deadly shooting in Toronto tops list of most wanted fugitives in Canada
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.