Gang leader pictured enjoying himself in Prison, flaunts his iPhone

A gang leader identified as Jahmal Richardson who is facing two counts of murder, one count of attempted murder with a firearm and two counts of aggravated assault, was pictured enjoying himself in prison as he flaunted his iPhone.

The Gang leader who alongside his half-brother Kyle Sparks MacKinnon, was accused of killing two strangers and wounding three others when one of the victims asked for directions outside a Chinese restaurant on Spadina Avenue on Jan. 31, 2016, had his identity and the nature of his alleged crimes protected, but as the jury was sequestered on Friday the ban was lifted.

The gang leader who was pictured enjoying himself was pictured eating a gourmet meal in Toronto South Detention Centre while awaiting trial for two murders. Though Richardson and MacKinnon have pleaded not guilty and their lawyers argued other people in their group were the shooters, it was gathered that at least 16 shots were fired from at least two guns.

CityNews who obtained a photo of the gang leader in November reported that Richardson is the alleged gang leader of Heart of a King (HOK) and is also known as Bam and Bambino. He was arrested after several raids.

However, his lavish lifestyle continued in prison, as he was pictured sitting at a table with two lobster tails and what appears to be a steak.  He also held an iPhone and an unopened bottle of Barq’s Root Beer, which are items prohibited in the jail and would have had to have been smuggled in.

While there is no investigation into how the inmates got the cellphones or the meal, it was gathered that the photo was found on yet another inmate’s phone during a routine search of a jail cell in March.

“That’s an inside job,” Kevin Egan, a lawyer with McKenzie Lake, told CityNews last November. “That’s someone with the ability to go through security, delivering that surf and turf and the big bottle of Barq’s to the individual.”

City News reported that the Toronto South Detention Centre — one of the province’s newest and largest jails — has been using body scanners on inmates since 2016. However, employees are not scanned or searched.

Toronto police, on the other hand, said they hadn’t been investigating, nor had they been informed of the contraband. Police are only called when illegal substances or weapons are found.