Taking the Rap: Judge urged to reject 'second shooter' theory in ByWard Market killing

Donald Musselman, convicted of second-degree murder, says another teenager fired the gun that killed Ottawa musician Markland Campbell.

Published May 10, 2024 • Last updated 3 hours ago • 6 minute read

Musician Markland Campbell died after being shot in the ByWard Market in 2019. Photo by Chris Wiens photo

It was supposed to be a time of celebration for Markland Campbell and his bandmates HalfSizeGiants.

The local hip-hop crew was set to release their first single in more than 10 years when Campbell was tragically shot and killed in the ByWard Market on June 7, 2019 while defending his teenage daughter.

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He had rushed over from his job after his daughter told him she was being harassed by two teenagers, and Campbell was fatally shot during a confrontation with a group of youths on the crowded market streets.

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The single was released the next morning along with an obituary for Campbell, 42, whose stage name was Jahiant Jah.

Nearly five years later, following a lengthy second-degree murder trial that ended with the jury’s guilty verdict in December, his killer is maintaining his claim that another teenager fired the fatal shots that night.

Donald Musselman, who was 18 at the time of the shooting, was found guilty of second-degree murder in Campbell’s death on Dec. 20, 2023.

He testified in his own defence at his trial last year when he told the jury it was another teenager in his group who fired the gun.

That teenager, who is now 22, also testified in Musselman’s defence and claimed it was him, not Musselman, who shot Campbell.

“I didn’t do this,” Musselman repeated to Superior Court Justice Anne London-Weinstein during his sentencing hearing on April 25.

“We fundamentally disagree with the jury’s verdict and our position is he was wrongfully convicted by this jury,” said his lawyer, Leo Russomanno.

Crown prosecutors urged the judge to dismiss the theory of another shooter and said the jury had already “rejected that narrative” at the close of Musselman’s trial.

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There were other details the jury never heard.

The teenager who tried to take the rap for shooting Campbell is currently serving a 10-year maximum youth sentence for the first-degree murder of another rising star in the local hip-hop scene, Manyok “Manny” Akol.

An aspiring rapper and football star who performed under the stage name FTG Metro, Akol was killed and three others suffered life-altering injuries when a gunman opened fire in a targeted shooting inside a Gilmour Street AirBnB on the morning of Jan. 8, 2020.

The then-17-year-old who aided the shooter and acted as a lookout during the killing was convicted of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder in June, 2022. He cannot be named under the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act and a publication ban was extended on his name during Musselman’s trial.

His testimony extended over six days in November 2023, including several lengthy pauses and adjournments. The jury was unaware of his prior murder conviction when he claimed responsibility for Campbell’s killing, which happened seven months before the Gilmour Street shooting.

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Information about an accused person’s criminal history is typically closely guarded in jury trials, where jurors are instructed to focus only on the specific allegations and evidence presented at trial.

“It is an indisputable fact that the jury unanimously rejected extremely significant parts of both (Musselman’s and the teenager’s) accounts of the shooting itself… namely, the identity of the shooter,” said Assistant Crown attorney Matthew Geigen-Miller at last month’s sentencing hearing. “The jury rejected the core elements of their narrative.”

Geigen-Miller also asked the judge to reject another defence argument presented during sentencing submissions, where Musselman’s defence lawyers claimed Campbell was armed with a knife on the night he was shot.

Russomanno told the judge to ignore the longstanding “media narrative” that Campbell was unarmed at the time of the ByWard Market killing.

Campbell’s daughter was “out of danger” and safely in her father’s car when Campbell, according to Russomanno’s version of the altercation, angrily “beset upon” the group of teenagers who had harassed and bullied his daughter earlier that night. Musselman was not involved in the bullying incident, the defence noted.

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Russomanno said Campbell’s folding pocket knife was found along the path where he staggered after being shot and collapsed in the Market, which was packed that night with revellers enjoying a Toronto Raptors playoff game.

“The only reasonable inference from that evidence is that the knife was out and partially-opened,” Russomanno said.

“The only inference from the video evidence and physical evidence is that Mr. Campbell beset upon this group… We say this is an essential factor for the judge to consider an appropriate sentence.”

Musselman had previously been a victim of gun violence, his lawyer said, and did not habitually carry a gun. Musselman was shot and injured in a Vanier Burger King on Montreal Road in January 2019.

The Crown countered by again urging the judge to reject the defence narrative.

“There is no evidence in which a judge or a jury could conclude that Markland Campbell was armed during this altercation,” said Geigen-Miller.

“There is nothing in this jury’s verdict that infers he was armed… No independent witness saw a knife or anything else in Markland Campbell’s hands. The bystanders who testified did not see anything in Markland Campbell’s hands.

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“A weapon would have attracted attention and no one noticed that.”

Besides, Geigen-Miller told the judge, the folding pocket knife that was found along the path was not an “offensive” weapon.

“It’s a folding pocket knife that had the insignia of a trade union. It was not a switchblade… it was nothing suspicious. It is impossible to conclude, on a balance of probabilities, that Markland Campbell actually brandished it or used it in any way in this altercation.”

Other personal items belonging to Campbell were also found along the route he took as he staggered, including his car keys and wallet that had fallen from his pockets.

Eyewitnesses were cross-examined at length “and each didn’t notice anything” in Campbell’s hands, Geigen-Miller said. “The only person who was noticed to have anything in his hand was Mr. Musselman — and witnesses saw a gun.”

Donald Musselman of Ottawa was convicted of second-degree murder in the shooting death of father and musician Markland “Jahiant” Campbell in the ByWard Market on Friday, June 7, 2019. Photo by ott /jpg

The gun was later recovered at Musselman’s home when he was arrested, and eyewitnesses described the shooter as wearing the same clothes that Musselman was seen wearing on surveillance video.

Musselman was also charged with possessing fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking and pleaded guilty to that charge in November 2022, prior to the start of his murder trial.

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While he was in custody awaiting trial, Musselman was charged with aggravated assault for allegedly severely beating fellow inmate Zakaria Sheek-Hussein inside the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre on Feb. 24, 2021.

Sheek-Hussein died five months later and the assault charge against Musselman was upgraded to second-degree murder. Those allegations have not been tested in court.

The ByWard Market killing was “motiveless, impulsive and senseless,” Geigen-Miller told the judge.

“He’s there with his friends with a loaded handgun in his pocket, he’s got fentanyl for sale… and when (Campbell) approaches his group in regards to a dispute that he’s not even involved in, he does not hesitate to fire two shots over scarcely anything,” Geigen-Miller said.

“He kills a man in cold blood over the slightest challenge.”

The Crown asked the judge to impose a life sentence with an 18-year period of parole ineligibility, while the defence countered with 11 years of parole ineligibility.

A conviction for second-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence with a term that ranges from 10 to 25 years until a person can apply for parole.

The jury was also asked to recommend a period of parole ineligibility for Musselman; six jurors recommended 10 years, one recommended 12 years and three recommended 20 years.

London-Weinstein is set to render her sentence on May 21.

Musselman’s trial in the jailhouse killing of Sheek-Hussein is scheduled for early 2025.

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