Hamilton man found guilty for 2018 murder of Marko Bakir after orchestrating shooting

After 1 time of deliberations, a assemblage has recovered Alessandro Giammichele blameworthy of murdering Marko Bakir. 

The 12 jurors delivered the verdict to a Hamilton Superior courtroom connected Tuesday greeting wherever Bakir's household members sat on with a slew of homicide detectives. 

Giammichele, who goes by Gino, sat successful the prisoner's box. The 31-year-old from Hamilton is gangly with a acheronian beard. He appeared to person nary outward absorption astir the verdict. 

Bakir's household members gasped and cried erstwhile the verdict was read, and hugged the Crown attorneys afterwards.

Giammichele was charged with first-degree execution successful 2022 for orchestrating the shooting decease of Bakir successful 2018. He had pleaded not guilty. 

Another antheral Abdelaziz Ibrahim was besides charged with first-degree execution of Bakir but died earlier the charges were resolved. He was accused of pulling the trigger connected Giammichele's behalf. 

Justice Toni Skarica had finished instructing the 12-person assemblage connected Monday astatine 10:30 a.m. He'd told them they could find Giammichele not guilty, blameworthy of first-degree murder, blameworthy of second-degree murder, oregon blameworthy of manslaughter. 

"I wholly hold with that verdict," Skarica told the assemblage Tuesday morning.

Crown said Giammichele hired hitman

In the trial, the Crown and defence agreed that successful September 2018, Bakir lent Giammichele, a cause dealer, $100,000 arsenic an concern successful what the assemblage heard was apt a drug-related business. The pair, who had go close, signed a declaration with a outgo plan, but Giammichele stopped pursuing it aft 2 partial payments.

On November 22, 2018 astir 8:15 p.m., Ibrahim changeable Bakir, 31, to decease successful beforehand of his location successful Hamilton's westbound Mountain area, the Crown and defence agreed. 

The Crown said that it was Giammichele who hired Ibrahim done an alleged cause dealer.

Giammichele did so, astatine slightest successful part, due to the fact that Bakir threatened to exposure his transgression manner to Giammichele's begetter and instrumentality him to court, the Crown said.

"Marko lent Gino $100,000 and Gino had 100,000 reasons to privation him dead," adjunct Crown lawyer Elise Quinn said successful her closing statement connected May 31. 

Giammichele turned disconnected his telephone and drove Ibrahim to the country of the shooting, and communicated with Ibrahim earlier and aft Ibrahim shot Bakir 5 times, Quinn said.

"This is not a drawstring of atrocious luck for Gino," Quinn said. "The cumulative effect of these events makes it perfectly improbable that these are conscionable a bid of unfortunate coincidences, particularly erstwhile you see each the different grounds successful this case."

For example, the Crown interviewed 1 witnesser during the proceedings who told constabulary Giammichele had confessed to him. 

The defence argued that the witnesser lied and lone told constabulary that due to the fact that they kept coming to question him. 

The Crown besides presented grounds that erstwhile helium was successful the Dominican Republic successful 2019, Giammichele utilized Google to construe phrases astir him being a hitman and progressive successful convulsive crimes. The defence had countered that Giammichele was boasting to impressment women and different radical successful the cause trade. 

Shooter died of cause poisoning successful 2022

During the trial, defence lawyer Kendra Stanyon had argued the grounds against her lawsuit was inconclusive and did not found his guilt beyond a tenable doubt.

​​"Suspicion is not enough. 'Maybe,' is not enough. 'Likely,' is not enough. Even 'probably,' is not enough," she said successful her closing statement.

Stanyon besides said the Crown's communicative was illogical. For example, she said Giammichele already had a program to conscionable Bakir successful a backstage determination to wage him back, truthful helium had nary request to termination him — particularly successful a neighbourhood afloat of imaginable witnesses. 

What's more, Stanyon added, Giammichele did thing to fell imaginable grounds against him connected his phone, which she said helium unlocked for the police. 

But yet the assemblage accepted the Crown's mentation of events erstwhile they recovered Giammichele liable for Bakir's death. 

The accused shooter, Ibrahim, was 25 years aged erstwhile helium died successful August 2022 successful the Central East Correctional Centre successful Lindsay, Ont. A 2024 coroner's inquest recovered the Hamilton antheral died accidentally of acute toxicity of fentanyl.