Rabih Alkhalil appears in Toronto court on 1st-degree murder charge
Accused extradited from Greece to face charges in 2012 homicide
A man appeared in a Toronto court on Wednesday to face a first-degree murder charge in a high-profile homicide that occurred on the patio of a Little Italy café nearly three years ago.
Rabih Alkhalil was extradited from Greece and arrived in Toronto on Tuesday.
He is charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the death of John Raposo, a 35-year-old man who was shot dead at the Sicilian Sidewalk Café, at College St. and Montrose Ave., on June 18, 2012.
The café was packed with patrons watching a Euro Cup match between Italy and Ireland at the time of the shooting.
Police would later report that a man wearing a safety vest and construction helmet was the person who fired the shots that killed Raposo.
Four suspects were charged in the case, including Alkhalil.
Alkhalil was arrested in Greece in February 2013. He wasn't brought back to Canada until Tuesday.
According to a Toronto police news release, Alkhalil also faces drug trafficking and importing-related charges in the Niagara region of Ontario, as well as in Quebec.
He is also charged with first-degree murder in connection with a separate homicide investigation conducted by Vancouver police. That killing took place at a crowded restaurant at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre in January 2012 and investigators deemed it to be gang-related.
Additionally, police say Alkhalil faces charges for "passport-related offences."
None of the charges have been proven in court.