ONE OF TWO ACCUSED FIRED FATAL BULLET, CROWN SAYS

A Crown prosecutor told Brampton jurors this afternoon that one of
two men on trial for murder fired the bullet that killed a
Mississauga man during a drug deal gone bad inside a Cooksville apartment.

In his closing argument, prosecutor Brian McGuire told the jury that
Romeo Constantine and Karim Creighton, both 25, should be found
guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Otis Johnson, 34.

McGuire said the men were armed with guns and a plan to steal two
pounds of marijuana when they entered The Queensway Manor apartment
on the evening of Jan. 3, 2007.

McGuire contends it was Constantine who shot Johnson.

The accused have testified in their own defence, and both denied
killing Johnson.

In closing arguments on Wednesday, defence lawyers said Johnson and
others tried to steal nearly $5,000 from Creighton -- money he
brought to buy marijuana -- and that the Mississauga man, "the
aggressor" in an ensuing life-and-death struggle, was fatally wounded
by his own gun.

However, McGuire told the jury this afternoon not to believe the
defendants' "false, 'we're-the-victims' stories."

McGuire said, "the two defendants are the ones with the firearms, not
Mr. Johnson. It was a robbery and they had the firearms."

The Crown said that murder "was on the table" that night and the two
accused were "in for a penny, in for a pound."

McGuire said that while Constantine was the shooter, Creighton was a
party to the offence.

"After the first shot is fired, the two men continue the robbery,"
McGuire said, adding that murder committed during forcible
confinement constitutes first-degree murder.

McGuire and co-Crown Kelly Slate contend Constantine and Creighton
participated in the murder during a struggle inside the 12th-floor
apartment.

Both men, who were arrested nearly one month later at a Scarborough
apartment, have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. Their
trial began last November before Justice John Sproat.

Slate told the jury Constantine and Creighton came to a party at the
apartment to buy two pounds of marijuana, but instead concocted a
plan to steal the drugs.

During the two-month trial, various Crown witnesses gave their
versions of events.

Some said one of the accused fired a shot across the room moments
before Johnson was shot near the front closet. Others only heard one
shot.

Different people saw different gunmen at different locations in the
apartment. Nobody actually saw who shot Johnson.

Creighton testified there was no plan to commit a robbery and that he
wasn't armed with a gun.

Orville Cornwall, who rented the apartment, and who regularly sold
marijuana to his friends, fled to the balcony and climbed over the
rail, before seeking safety in an apartment two floors down, jurors
were told.

Cornwall had just returned from Jamaica and his friends gathered that
night to welcome him home.

After Johnson, a T.L. Kennedy Secondary School graduate, was shot,
the gunmen fled. Three friends carried the wounded man to the lobby,
and called 9-1-1. Johnson died a short time later.

Creighton told court that he, Constantine and another man, Marc Wong,
were greeted by Johnson that night.

The plan was to purchase marijuana for $4,200. However, when Johnson
and another man brought out a "Ziploc bag" of the drug, Creighton
became suspicious. He told jurors he believed there was no more than
"half-a-pound" of marijuana in the bag.

When Creighton asked for a scale to weigh the drugs, he said Johnson
became "vulgar."

"His voice started to sound more raspy," Creighton testified. "He
said, 'there won't be no need for a scale.'"

Johnson then reached for something in his waistband, Creighton
said.

"I just grabbed him. I felt scared because of the way he was talking
to me and the motions he was making," Creighton told court. "I just
jumped on top of him. I was scared for my life."

Creighton said Johnson eventually overpowered him. Then, Creighton
heard a gunshot and saw Johnson "fly into the closet" as if he had
been pushed.

Creighton then fled.

Constantine's lawyer, Derek Gravesande, reminded jurors that police
never found the murder weapon or bullet.

Jurors could begin deliberations as early as Friday.