Evidence is overwhelming,’ Crown says as trial closes in assassination of Toronto mob boss
Just a few bites into a Spicy Habanero McChicken in March of 2020, Toronto police Det. Const. Kristy Devine spotted the distinctive hubcaps of a black Mercedes drive past. A similar SUV, she knew, was suspected as the getaway vehicle in the assassination of a former organized crime boss just a few days earlier — so she put down her sandwich and followed the car back to the home of Joseph Paquet.
It’s Paquet’s connection to the stolen Mercedes — as well as his alleged role in the burning of the vehicle days later — that lies at the heart of a recently completed Toronto trial. It’s now up to a jury to decide if he is guilty of first-degree murder and arson in the killing of Dobroslav (Bobby) Manchev outside a Scarborough gym on March 18, 2020.
When you look at all the evidence together, it points to one person and one person only, said Crown prosecutor Julie Battersby in her closing statement on Monday. Combined, the evidence is overwhelming.
Video presented at Paquet’s trial shows a man in a black hoodie with red markings, a safety vest, gloves, and a mask walking up to Manchev in the parking lot of R3 Fitness Studio, near Eglinton and Warden Avenues. The masked individual can be seen approaching from behind before he fatally shoots Manchev in the back of the head.
On Tuesday, the jury began its deliberations, tasked with deciding whether Paquet was the masked gunman.
What the jury did not know and was not told at the trial was that Manchev was himself a convicted mobster.
Prior to his death, Manchev was linked to a crime ring accused of posing as police officers while committing a string of armed robberies targeting drug dealers.
In 2008, Manchev was the focus of a nine-month police operation called Project Betrayal, which ended with charges against 25 people and the seizure of guns and passports.
Manchev often held court in a restaurant on the Danforth – which he called the office, police said.
Manchev was previously sentenced to six years in prison in 2001 for being part of a crime ring with former Toronto police constable Darin Cooper.
On the day of his killing, Manchev arrived at R3 Fitness Studio at 3:54 p.m. One minute later, Battersby said, two people emerged from Paquet’s home and drove away in the Mercedes.
The Mercedes then drove nearby R3 Fitness and circled the block for about 20 minutes before the shooter emerged on foot to approach Manchev.
After the killing, the shooter ran back to the Mercedes and was driven away.
At trial, Paquet’s defense team of Andrew Vaughn and Gregory Leslie argued that their client cannot be identified as the gunman.
Three individuals suspected to have involvement with the shooting — including Paquet — are all of similar heights and builds to the gunman, they argued. It’s also impossible to know which of the three men is shown in the video.
The fact is, we don’t know who came out of the house, Vaughn added.
In her closing statement, Battersby argued that although three individuals have been identified in connection with the Mercedes, Paquet was recorded driving the car from his home to the grocery store and other locations multiple times. He was also previously photographed wearing a black hoodie with red markings, as well as shoes and jeans resembling those the gunman wore.
After Devine identified the Mercedes, police surveilled the vehicle and Paquet’s house until they saw him and two other men drive the car and a BMW to Summerville Park on March 26, 2020.
There, the Mercedes was set on fire, and police identified it as a car that had been stolen in November 2019.
In his closing statement, Vaughn argued the Crown did not establish that Paquet and the shooter were wearing the same clothes and cast doubt on an analysis linking his client’s gait to the gunman’s.
These are extremely serious charges, and you’re going to have to come to your own conclusions, he said.
In front of a crowded courtroom, Battersby told the jury that she believes their decision will be straightforward.
A trial is like a puzzle, but just like a puzzle, you don’t necessarily need all the pieces before you know what the picture is, she said.
When you stand back and look at this particular puzzle, the picture is clear.
