Just Desserts shooting

A security camera in the restaurant filmed the entire scene, but its low quality and lack of audio made it difficult to make out events and hard to identify the murderers.

Many felt that such a vague description would do nothing to help capture the perpetrators and would merely enhance stereotypes of black men being criminals.

When it was discovered that the attackers were Jamaican citizens, though they had arrived in Canada as children, editorials in the Toronto Sun and in other media outlets called for tougher immigration laws.

The case was marred by errors by police and prosecutors, but it was mainly lengthened by defence lawyers who were later accused of unprofessional conduct.

The trial itself became one of Canada's longest,[citation needed] with Brown extensively cross-examining each witness, often for up to two days.

[5] One of the lawyers — there were dozens hired, fired and removed — likened the preferred indictment to "the modern-day equivalent of a lynching.

"[5] Moreover, in a letter written in 1995 to Ian Scott, then chief counsel for special investigations at the Crown Law Office, lawyers for the accused alleged that "this case has drawn a tremendous amount of publicity .

[5] The selective use of leg irons, belly chains and handcuffs on the three suspects displayed "cultural insensitivity towards black people," stated Judge Trafford.

On February 24, 2008, Francis was found in possession of 33 grams of crack cocaine and in May 2008 sentenced to 7½ months in jail for several drug related offences.

The infamous location at 306 Davenport Road was occupied by a Subway Restaurant franchise and is currently empty, with a proposal by Cityzen Development Group to build a condominium.

[9] Developers demolished the building in Spring 2022.The shooting inspired both Jerry Ciccoritti's 1999 film The Life Before This,[10] and the pilot episode of the Canadian television drama series The City.