Man Gets 4.5 Years for Role in 2023 Toronto Shooting

Michael Bebee, 37, has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison for his role in the 2023 shooting death of Shamar Powell-Flowers, 29, in Toronto's east end.

Bebee pleaded guilty last month to being an accessory after the fact to discharging a firearm. Ontario Superior Court Justice Jane Kelly said the sentence is required to "adequately denounce the offence and deter other like minded offenders" and noted that Bebee has "rehabilitative potential."

According to an agreed statement of facts, Powell-Flowers was out with friends on July 23 near Danforth Avenue and Carlaw Avenue at around 3:30 a.m. when they got involved in a physical altercation with two other men, Mohamad Farah and Bebee. During the fight, a firearm was introduced and Farah shot Powell-Flowers, who later died from a single gunshot wound to the chest.

After the shooting, Farah and Bebee fled the scene in less than 20 seconds. Bebee assisted Farah's escape and did not provide aid to Powell-Flowers, showing "a complete and callous disregard for his life," Kelly's decision said.

Bebee fled to the Maritimes with the gun. The firearm used to kill Powell-Flowers was also used in Halifax. Farah, arrested in August 2023, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to seven years. Bebee was arrested in April 2024 on Prince Edward Island and brought back to Ontario in May.