Calgary rapper shot to death was not intended target, Crown tells judge

A Calgary rapper was shot to death in a case of mistaken identity over a debt, according to prosecutors' opening statement at a first-degree murder trial that got underway Monday.

Mourad Gasmi, 23, and Shannoh Jabet, 24, are accused of breaking into Jeoffrey Balimaka's southeast apartment in October 2017.

Balimaka was the suspected target, but it was Eriq Mvemba who was shot to death. His body was discovered in a hallway in a pool of blood.

"Eriq was in the wrong place at the wrong time," said prosecutor Vicki Faulkner. 

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In 2016, Jabet pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of Devon Goot, an 18-year-old who was fatally beaten. Jabet was handed a four-year sentence, but with credit for the time served, the killer had four months left behind bars. 

Jabet was released in early 2017, months before he is accused of murdering Mvemba.

Photos upset victim's family

Photos of the victim were shown in court Monday morning as prosecutors had police witnesses walk the judge through the discovery of the crime scene. The images agitated members of Mvemba's family who were in the courtroom gallery.

Mvemba was also known as Yayopenza and was a local rapper.

Prosecutor Matthew Block called Const. Christopher McKay as the Crown's first witness.

McKay was first to arrive on scene at what first came in as a report of an assault. The constable discovered Mvemba's body in a hallway, partially blocking the entrance to the apartment. He had suffered a traumatic injury to his chest.

After calling for backup and for paramedics, McKay said he checked Mvemba for a pulse but did not find one.

Victim, accused meet in jail 

According to the Crown, Balimaka and Jabet met in the days or weeks before the shooting when they were both at the Calgary Remand Centre. 

After their release, Jabet believed Balimaka owed him a debt from their time in remand, according to the Crown's theory. 

On Oct. 28, 2017, Jabet and Gasmi crawled into the Dover apartment through a window, armed with a shotgun, Faulkner told Court of Queen's Bench Justice Robert Hall.

Faulkner said she and Block will call a witness who will testify about confessions and comments made by the two accused in the minutes after the shooting, concern over fingerprints left at the scene and blood on their clothing.

The trial is set to last three weeks. 

Jabet is being represented by defence lawyer Andrea Serink and Gasmi by Allan Fay.