One of two young Six Nations brothers convicted last year of second-degree murder in the death of a man is now the ninth person charged in a jailhouse homicide last year in Niagara.
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Eric Smoke, 25, along with his brother Andrew Smoke, was found guilty on March 1, 2023 in the death of Andrew Davis, who had his two-year-old daughter sitting on his lap when he was shot.
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Each of the Smokes was sentenced to life in prison at the end of September 2023.
Eric Smoke is ineligible for parole for 15 years but his sentence was shortened by the almost-three years he had already spent in jail.
Between the time Eric Smoke was convicted and the time he was sentenced, a 52-year-old man was killed at the Niagara Detention Center at 6:30 am on June 10.
On Feb. 21, Niagara police announced Jeremy Lowes-Kennedy, 19, of Welland, and Kelvin Justin Bascus, 39, of St. Catharines had been charged with second-degree murder.
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Five more men – all from the Niagara region – were charged on Feb. 23: Joshua Leblanc, 29; Tyler Pelikan, 23; Shaun St. Denis, 44; Ju-Ron Fertilien, 23 and Zachary Durant, 28.
On March 1, Julio-Torres, 44, of Pelham was added to the list.
Eric Smoke became the ninth man to face the same second-degree murder offense on March 15.
He was at the Robert SK Welch courthouse in St. Catharines on that day for a bail hearing.
In the Six Nations incident, Smoke had joined his brother on Nov. 30, 2020 as they argued with Andrew Davis, the ex-partner of Andrew Smoke’s girlfriend.
Davis began recording the argument, capturing the Smokes taunting him and demanding he put his child down while Davis said they should meet at another time.
Eric Smoke said he was ready to shoot and Andrew Smoke gave him the OK.
Justice Robert Reid was told Eric Smoke had no prior criminal record at the time of the shooting.
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