A gang leader spending life in prison for murdering an innocent man was released from a Quebec jail and allowed to take a trip to Toronto last week to attend his father’s funeral.
Tyshan Riley was afforded the privilege of paying his last respects on Thursday while a large numbers of police guarded the funeral home in the city’s St. Clair Ave. West and Dufferin St. area.
In 2004, Riley led the Galloway Boys gang which was known to indiscriminately shoot at men in the city’s east-end, possibly in order to confuse police who were investigating the gang’s other violent crimes.
Brenton Charlton, 31, was in a car in Scarborough with his passenger Leonard Bell when their vehicle was shot at. Bell survived, but Charlton died. Neither men were gang members, according to police.
Riley was one of three Galloway Boys found guilty of Charlton’s murder. The Crown opted not to go ahead with two other murder trials he had potentially faced.
On Tuesday, Bell told CTV Toronto that he was “disgusted” with the decision to let Riley out, adding that it brings back a flood of traumatic memories.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked by reporters Tuesday in Barrie, Ont., whether he was concerned by Riley’s release. He said he has a “high degree of confidence in our justice system.”
“I think it’s extremely important that federal politicians or that politicians in general don’t meddle with the processes of our independent judiciary,” Trudeau said.
“Of course there’s always room to reflect moving forward on improvements that can or may be made but I’m not going to second-guess the choices of our independent judiciary,” he added.
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said much the same: “It’s not a healthy or a wise thing for politicians to second-guess the justice system and I have a lot of faith in the judiciary to make the right decisions.”
Neighbours near the funeral home in Toronto said they were shocked to learn a murderer had been brought to their neighbourhood.
With a report from CTV Toronto
