Supreme Court won't hear appeal of man convicted in Jane Creba death

OTTAWA -- Canada's top court won't hear the case of a man convicted in the Toronto shooting death of teenager Jane Creba.

Jorrell Simpson-Rowe was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of Creba, 15, who was shopping with family on Yonge Street when she was caught in the crossfire of a shootout between rival gangs on Boxing Day 2005.

Simpson-Rowe was 17 at the time but after being convicted of second-degree murder he was sentenced as an adult to life with no chance of parole for seven years.

He sought leave to appeal his case to the Supreme Court, but with the court declining to hear an appeal, his conviction stands.

Simpson-Rowe had asked to be tried by judge alone, but the Crown used a section of the Youth Criminal Justice Act to override his choice and give him a trial by jury.

He had wanted the Supreme Court to consider whether that violates the charter.

As is standard, the court did not provide reasons for deciding not to hear the case.

At the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Simpson-Rowe's lawyer argued that the jury's conclusion that his client fired a weapon in the shootout was unreasonable because of varying eyewitness accounts.

Jeremiah Valentine was also found guilty of second-degree murder in Creba's death. Louis Woodcock and Tyshaun Barnett were found guilty of manslaughter. Five other people were acquitted.