Couple cleared in 401 shooting

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Toronto police have ruled out a Mississauga couple as suspects in the brazen shooting murder of a Toronto man on a busy stretch of Hwy. 401.
Speaking at a news conference this morning, Toronto homicide Det. Mike Barsky said police don't believe the couple, who are the registered owners of a champagne-coloured 1997 Lexus ES300, are involved in the murder of Dayne Rose, 29, of Toronto.
On Tuesday night, heavily-armed Toronto officers with assistance from Peel Regional Police took two people into custody for questioning from a boarding house on Ceremonial Dr. after Rose was shot earlier in the day.
Barsky said the couple had an "association" with the murder victim, but wouldn't elaborate on the nature of their relationship.
"We do know (Rose) had occasion to drive the vehicle," Barsky said, declining to comment on whether the vehicle was stolen at the time of the murder.
Police said Rose was shot around 2:45 p.m. Tuesday as the car travelled along the eastbound collector lanes of Hwy. 401 just west of Keele St. in Toronto.
As rush-hour traffic forced the Lexus to slow down, there was a struggle inside the car. The murder victim leapt out of the vehicle and fell to the ground. That's when he was fatally shot once in the torso and left to die on the road, police said.
The Lexus was later found abandoned on Armel Ct. in Etobicoke. Barsky said the car had been set ablaze in an effort to "thwart" the collection of evidence.
Forensic investigators are currently examining the vehicle.
Witnesses in passing cars have told media that Rose was shot by a woman with a silver pistol. Police wouldn't comment on the gender of the shooter.
Police described the victim as a family man who worked in the trucking industry. There was no indication that Rose was involved in criminal activity at the time of the shooting, Barsky said.
Earlier this week, residents of the Mississauga boarding house told reporters they had nothing to do with the shooting and pleaded for privacy.
"We're not related to whatever incident is going on," said Phyllis Bogle.
A neighbour said the owner of the Lexus was once a tenant at the boarding house but had moved out some time ago.
Police are asking anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS or visit www.222tips.com.
— with files from Torstar Network
cclay@mississauga.net

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