Yonge-Eglinton shooting victim known to police as cocaine dealer

CTV Toronto: Murder victim had criminal past Daylight murder victim was expected to appear in court next year for drug trafficking and other criminal activity. Tamara Cherry reports.

A Vancouver man and alleged drug dealer is the victim of yesterday’s fatal shooting in the Yonge and Eglinton area, police sources told CTV Toronto.

The man, identified as 34-year-old Sukhvir Deo, was seen on TV recently at Game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. In the fourth quarter, Deo -- a Raptors fan -- was ejected from the game for heckling a referee.

Deo was shot to death just before 3 p.m. Tuesday while sitting in the driver’s seat of a white Range Rover in an alleyway behind a building on Yonge Street and Soudan Avenue, just south of Eglington Avenue.

Witnesses heard numerous shots ring out and the vehicle had its glass shattered and was riddled with bullet holes when police arrived on scene.

According to a police source, Deo recently moved to the GTA from Vancouver to start a trucking company but was also believed to be involved with dealing drugs.

Deo was previously found guilty of five different offences in BC, according to public records.

The convictions pertained to several vehicle-related offences as well as a 2002 charge for assault and a 2011 charge for resisting or obstructing a peace officer.

One police source described Deo to CTV Toronto as “an animal.”

Tuesday afternoon, residents of the building where the incident took place were informed that it was not a random shooting.

“I also understand that this shooting was a targeted attack,” condominium board president Shawn Pulver said in a statement sent out to building residents at 2181 Yonge St.

Pulver did not disclose in the statement who provided him with the information.

Police would not confirm that the shooting was targeted when contacted by CP24 Tuesday evening.

Meanwhile, residents in the area said they are shocked by the incident.

“It's pretty scary, especially in the middle of the day,” one resident said.

"I've seen that SUV a few times in the neighbourhood, but whether they were picking someone up or dropping someone off, it's quite concerning,” another said. “Hopefully it's the end of that, so it was targeted, it wasn't a random act of violence."

Police said that two black males were seen fleeing the area in a black vehicle. One male suspect was last seen wearing a green construction vest and the other was wearing an orange construction vest.

It is not known why Deo was in the alleyway yesterday.

Records show the man lived in a luxury home in Oakville.

Tactical officers raided the home in 2014, according to a police source, where he lived with his wife and two young children. The source said investigators seized luxury cars -- a Bentley, a Rolls Royce and a Land Rover. Deo was supposed to go to trial early next year for drug trafficking and possession of property obtained by crime.