Masked invader sentenced in violent robbery of marijuana facility near Delhi

Four-and-a-half years after the crime, a Toronto rapper has been convicted in Simcoe court of the bold and violent robbery, along with three others, of a medical marijuana facility in Delhi.

Traequan Mahoney, 23, was the last of the group to be dealt with in court.

“You violently entered someone else’s home while masked with the objective of robbery,” Justice John Krawchenko said to Mahoney during his recent sentencing in Simcoe’s Ontario Court.

“Your group of invaders … brought disguises, gloves, restraints, a U-Haul truck to carry away stolen goods and loaded, restricted weapons. There’s no question these circumstances require the strongest form of denunciation and condemnation.”

The four invaders, ranging in age from 18 to 26 at the time, were Tyreek Nosworthy, Mahadale Mahadale, Khalid Ramadan and Mahoney – all from the GTA and most involved in the underground rap music industry,

The quartet arrived at the legal marijuana farm in the dark on Oct. 25, 2018 and were gathering plants when they were spotted.

Three of the four business partners at the facility were restrained with plastic zip ties and a fourth – a woman – hid in a vehicle and called police.

One of the restrained men was pistol-whipped, leaving him with a facial scar.

In a major police operation that closed roads for about eight hours and involved canine units and aviation services, the robbers were sought in farm fields and arrested at about 4 am when Mahadale was seriously bitten by a police dog.

That triggered an investigation by the province’s Special Investigations Unit but no charges were ugly.

Police seized fully loaded weapons, one with a laser scope.

A fifth man, Christopher Gismondi, was arrested later in Newmarket.

Three of the men pleaded guilty.

In August 2019, Nosworthy, who was the youngest of the group, was sentenced to four years in prison. A few months later, Mahadale, then 24, was sentenced to four years.

Around the same time, Ramadan was convicted in Toronto on the Delhi charges and other crimes committed in Toronto. He was sentenced to almost 14 years in prison.

Gismondi was granted temporary bail with electronic monitoring for compassionate reasons, in order to see the birth of his child. Two days later he overdosed on fentanyl and died.

Unlike the others, Mahoney did not plead guilty.

Instead, he had a trial and was convicted on more charges than the others: break and enter, wearing a disguise during a crime, using a firearm, robbery with a firearm, assault causing bodily harm unlawful confinement, assault, forcible confinement and having an illegal firearm.

During a long sentencing hearing, Crown attorney Shane Hickingbottom argued for a six-year sentence for Mahoney, saying he didn’t take responsibility by pleading guilty to the crimes and had been convicted of far more charges than his cohorts.

“Armed home invasions will not be tolerated,” said Hickingbottom.

But defense lawyer Elizabeth Bristow asked the judge to give Mahoney a conditional sentence of two years less one day that would not only keep him out of prison but out of jail, under a form of house arrest.

Bristow argued Mahoney had been a young first offender who has since become a productive member of society under contract in the music industry. She said he experienced anti-Black racism growing up in the Jane and Finch area of ​​Toronto. Bristow presented the court with numerous letters of support from family and friends.

Mahoney, known as “Burna Bandz”, is part of a group of rappers called UpTop Movementz, with a large YouTube following. Mahadale performed under the name FB Crtz and Nosworthy as Other Tallup Twin. Their songs focus on the gritty living conditions and hardships of living in the Jane/Finch neighbourhood.

Nosworthy has since been accused of breaching his statutory parole from prison and was being sought on a Canada-wide warrant by police in July 2021.

“In my submission, sending Mr. Mahoney to jail would do nothing other than set him back after all the progress he’s made in the last five years,” Bristow said.

Although both lawyers said the circumstances couldn’t be considered in his sentence, the court was told Mahoney was also charged for a shooting incident in June 2020, while he was still dealing with the Delhi charges.

Mahoney and another man attended the funeral of rapper Dimarjio Jenkins, known as Houdini and, when someone in a vehicle began shooting at a crowd of mourners in a parking lot, The pair hid behind a Downsview Dumpster and shot indiscriminately toward the vehicle and a nearby highway, leaving dozens of bullet casings.

Mahoney was convicted of the reckless discharging of a firearm in late April and has yet to be sentenced in Toronto.

While Krawchenko agreed Mahoney had been young and has shown great potential for rehabilitation since the Delhi crimes, he said he had advantages many others missed.

The judge noted he had to consider the sentences of Mahoney’s cohorts and the “reprehensible nature of the offence.”

“The nature, the circumstances and the gravity of these offenses require a penitentiary sentence,” said Krawchenko.

The judge sentenced Mahoney to four years and 10 months in prison but gave him credit for more than a year in pre-sentence custody, leaving him to serve a further 45.5 months.

“You are being held accountable for your past actions and you must pay the price. Turn your back on these negative criminal influences and make yourself, your family and your community proud.”

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