Toronto rapper Top5 releases music video from jail while awaiting murder trial
Ontario's Solicitor General is trying to figure out how a man awaiting trail on a first-degree murder charge was able to record part of a music video inside his jail cell.
In a clip posted to Instagram this week, Toronto rapper Top5, appears in an orange jumpsuit in a cinderblock room.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
"I was 18 when I bought a gun, 22 when I shot your son," he says looking into the camera.
The artist, whose real name is Hassan Ali is behind bars, charged in the Jan. 2021 shooting death of Hashim Omar Hashi, a student who police say had no connections to the criminal world.
According to documents unsealed in an American extradition hearing back in 2021, Ali is a member of the “Go Getem Gang,” a criminal group that organized the botched hit trying to target his brother's killer which he shouts out several times in the music video.
Hashi was mistaken for the person the shooters believed was the killer of Ali’s brother, Said Ali, known as “Foolish”, in 2017, the court filing says.
In a statement to CTV News Toronto, Hunter Kell, a spokesperson for the Solicitor General writes:
"The ministry is aware of an unacceptable incident involving a video posted online that appears to contain images of secure areas of the Maplehurst Correctional Complex. Unauthorized photography of any kind is strictly prohibited inside provincial correctional facilities.
“The ministry has launched a full investigation into this incident and appropriate action will be taken."
Former Toronto homicide detective Mark Mendelson says contraband cellphones aren't uncommon behind bars, but the behaviour shown here is extraordinary.
"I can't think of a particular time where somebody's actually gone out of their way in custody to film a video and then have the audacity to publish it," Mendelson says.
He explains that the fact that Ali is being held in a provincial prison presents possible avenues for a phone to slip through checks.
"In the provincial jails, there are scores of prisoners going in and out every day. They're getting bail, or they're going to court and they're coming back to the facility so there's lots of prisoner transport," Mendelson says.
He adds contraband items can also be smuggled in by visitors, lawyers, staff, even dropped over a fence by drone.
This is not the first time Ali's online activity has got him into trouble.
He was initially charged with accessory to murder in Hashi's death. When he charge was upgraded, Ali allegedly cut off his GPS tracking bracelet and took off to California.
The Los Angeles Police Department says they were able to track him down, based on social media posts.
The year before, he was charged with mischief for allegedly bringing traffic on Highway 401 to a standstill to shoot a music video.
With files from Jon Woodward
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.