Ottawa Police search a ravine along Hunt Club Rd near Hwy. 417 Monday April 13, 2015. The search is in relation to the February 6, 2015 murder of Yusuf Ibrahim. It is believed that the evidence may have been thrown from a black Doge Charger as it fled the crime scene.
by Shaamini Yogaretnam
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Ottawa police scoured the freshly thawed ground along Hunt Club Road on Monday, searching for what they believe is the handgun used to kill a known gang-member and convicted bank robber in February.
The force’s Emergency Services Unit began the ground search between Hawthorne Road and Highway 417 on Monday as the morning commute was underway. It’s on that same stretch of road, around the same time, that police say a black Avis rental Dodge Charger was speeding away from a homicide scene at 181 Forestglade Cres. on Feb. 6.
Police completed their ground search Monday afternoon and said items “of interest” had been located but refused to detail what they were.
Laying on the couch with multiple bullet holes in his back and legs, 27-year-old Yusuf Ibrahim was dead after a night of partying in the ByWard Market, including what’s believed to have been a stop at Barefax strip club, and an after-party in Unit 32 of the south-end housing co-op.
Police have not yet confirmed what kind of handgun was used in the slaying, but, based on investigative information, are searching for evidence that the gun was tossed by one of three occupants inside the Charger as the car made its getaway toward the Queensway, running a red light in the process.
Homicide detectives believe the killing was both targeted and gang-related. Ibrahim was a Crips gang member who, as recently as December 2014, was charged with possessing crack cocaine for the purpose of trafficking
Earlier, police released images of three persons of interest different from the three occupants of the Charger. Police hoped to use taxi security camera images to identify the three men who had taken two different cabs to and from the townhouse where Ibrahim was killed. Those men have since been identified but some refused to be interviewed.
Police continue to ask the public for any information on the three people believed to have been inside the Charger — the people they believe are responsible for the homicide.
To date, Ibrahim is the city’s only homicide victim of the year.