Toronto rapper faces 1st degree murder charges

A 27 year old has been charged in the murders of four people and faces dozens of other charges.

There are a total of 54 charges against Mark Garfield Moore including the four first degree murder charges.

The rapper was arrested Wednesday as part of a large police investigation called “Project Summit.”

Police linked Moore to eleven drive-by shootings that took place in Toronto between June and November of 2010.

He’s been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of 45 year old Carl Cole; 27 year old Jahmeel Spence, who police say may have been a case of mistaken identity; 18 year old Courthney Facey and 23 year old Mike James, who police say were gunned down for no reason.

Police say there is no link between these victims.

Moore is also charged with the robbery of a Toronto jewelry store in August 2010, where a employee was hurt, and with a string of other shootings and an attempted murder.

The families of the victims were at a police news conference Wednesday morning where Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair apologized for their loss and spoke of the negative impact one individual can have on communities, which he said were left in fear over the shootings.

“The incredible negative impact that a single individual can have on our communities the amount of violence that it is alleged that this individual has perpetrated in our city, the victims who have lost their lives as a result of a single persons activity really reveal to us the importance of insuring the importance that we leave no stone unturned.”

Police say Moore was known to them and had been before the courts on previous occasions.

He’s been in police custody since March when he was arrested for a night club shooting.

He’s scheduled to appear in a Toronto court Wednesday.

As part of the investigation, police say that six other people are facing weapons and drug charges.

Video: Sean Cowan reports: