Four people charged in Carter shooting: two dead, two convicted

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The plot to kill Hamilton drug dealer Coby “Kareem” Carter involved at least four people.

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Now, almost five and a half years after Carter’s violent death in downtown Brantford, two of those responsible have been convicted; Neither of them are the triggermen of the case.

The other two people charged, one the accused attacker and the other the man who allegedly ordered the attack, allegedly died of an overdose in prison.

“He was 21 and had a daughter he loved,” Carter’s brother said at sentencing hearings for his brother.

On July 8, 2019, Carter was removed from an apartment on Colborne Street near the Lorne Bridge, ostensibly to make a drug deal, but Abdelaziz Ibrahim was hiding in a nearby alley, facts read in court records.

“I overheard (Ibrahim) asking which door ‘Kareem’ would exit through,” said assistant Crown attorney Ed Slater.

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“He tightened the drawstrings of his hoodie, hid his face, and hid in a small alley next to the building, essentially out of sight.”

Surveillance video showed Carter negotiating a deal when Abraham came up behind him, pointed the laser-sighted gun at him, and shot Carter in the head.

“Ibrahim approached and fired more shots into (Carter’s) body before running away,” Slater said.

The targeted attack took place just 10 days before the shocking double murder of Larry Reynolds and Lynn Van Every. A special investigation – Project Grantham – was launched to uncover the three deaths, and nearly a year later police offered a reward for information into Carter’s death.

In June 2021, almost two years after Carter’s death, police charged Ibrahim as the shooter in the case.

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In March 2022, Thomas Sliwinski, 43, and Tina Flear, 46, of Brantford, were also charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder were later announced against Salloum Jassem of Brantford, charging that he ordered the contract killing of Carter.

Ibrahim, Sliwinski and Jassem were also among those charged in the 2018 organized crime killing of a Toronto tow truck operator.

Jassem was also accused of being the drug dealer who ordered the hit on Brantford man Roger Van Every; This situation went tragically wrong, resulting in the deaths of Van Every’s innocent parents, Larry Reynolds and Lynn Van Every, and murder charges against seven people.

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After Ibrahim died in Lindsay prison in August 2022, Jassem, Sliwinski and Flear turned to cases.

But after going to court for preliminary proceedings in August, Jassem was found dead in Maplehurst Correctional Center the next morning.

His lawyer said he considered his death suspicious because he was optimistic he would eventually be prosecuted.

With Jassem’s death, Sliwinski and Flear quickly reached an agreement with Crown attorneys, putting an end to pre-trial motions and a long and complicated trial, Slater said.

In September, Sliwinski pleaded guilty to manslaughter for his role, admitting to Ibrahim that Carter was selling drugs in Brantford and telling him the details that led to Carter’s death.

Sliwinski was sentenced to six years in prison in Kitchener; however, this sentence was added to his existing sentence for manslaughter of a Toronto tow truck operator and pointing a firearm at a lawyer.

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He was sentenced to 12 years in prison for these crimes. In 2023, Sliwinski was also convicted in Brantford court of possession of stolen property and possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking. He was sentenced to two years in prison.

Sliwinski had a minor criminal record before becoming involved with the drug-dealing group in Brantford, his lawyer said.

“He didn’t drive the shooter there or drive him away. “He passed on information,” the lawyer said.

Sliwinski offered his condolences to Carter’s family members.

“I was an addict and a drug dealer and something else entirely,” he told the court.

“This ‘something else’ is why I am here today and why so many terrible things are happening around me. “I will do everything I can to avoid being in this situation again.”

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In October, Flear was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter in a Hamilton courtroom.

He admitted that, as a friend of Carter’s, he had lured him onto the street and to his death for drug dealing. When Carter came out of the apartment, he greeted Flear and hugged her.

While Slater said Flear was a “pawn” in the attack, he stated that he knew his friend could be harmed.

“Salloum did not know that Jassem had taken a hit on Mr. Carter or that there might be competition in the Brantford drug game. (But) he was her ‘street brother’ and that relationship was being abused.

“There is no indication that he tried to warn her… and when he was shot, he ran away rather than check on her.”

It was noted at both sentencing hearings that Flear herself may have been in danger, as the gunfire aimed at Carter put her in the line of fire.

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Flear’s defense lawyer, Alison MacDonald, said her client, a mother of five, was not a “hardened criminal” but someone who became addicted to crack cocaine and began to fear for her own life after the shooting.

“I apologize to Coby’s family,” Flear said at the sentencing hearing.

“I loved him just like they did.”

With his four-year sentence already served, Flear pleaded with the judge for the final six days not to send him back to prison, but Judge Paul Sweeny denied his request.

“You will have a difficult road ahead of you, but you owe it to your children, your grandchildren, and the memory of Coby Carter to remain sober and be a positive, contributing member of society,” Sweeny said.

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