Court documents reveal that the purported attack on a prison official, leading to the police corruption and organized crime investigation dubbed Project South, was orchestrated by individuals using false identities on an encrypted messaging platform. Prior to the alleged assassination attempt, suspects reportedly utilized the Signal app to exchange personal details and images of the intended victim, a high-ranking corrections officer at Toronto South Detention Centre. These claims were outlined in a legal submission filed by Crown prosecutors in Ontario Superior Court. The submission, citing conversations extracted from confiscated cellphones, portrays an alleged network for hiring hitmen believed to be responsible for the planned murder.
The investigation into Project South commenced in June 2025 following the interception by York Regional Police of the purported murder plot, which involved a collision between the suspect’s vehicle and a police car stationed outside the targeted official’s residence.
Initially, almost 30 individuals were charged in connection with Project South, including seven Toronto police officers and a retired constable. One officer, now retired, recently pleaded guilty, while charges against one civilian were dropped.
About four days before the foiled murder attempt, Dequon Lemonious, using the pseudonym “Danny Phantom” on Signal, reportedly requested Median Jackson, allegedly known as “Lebron James,” to verify the presence of a vehicle at a specific address. Lemonious shared a snapshot of the officer’s address and car, obtained illegally from the Ministry of Transportation database, purportedly accessed by a Toronto police officer.
Lemonious messaged Jackson, stating, “If the car there need the hit squad.” Allegedly, while planning the attack on the official, Lemonious and Jackson discussed other criminal activities. Lemonious was supposed to provide information to Jackson, who would subcontract the tasks to others for financial gain.
The court filing also mentions another individual, Devonte Barker-Campbell, using the alias “Dwayne Casey,” who sent images of the officer and his address to a Signal user named “Thunder.” After Thunder declined the job, Barker-Campbell offered it to another Signal user named “Reality.”
Reality expressed readiness to proceed with the plan, arranging for a team of “hitters” to visit the official’s home over the next 36 hours. The factum mentions that the hitters encountered issues with their stolen vehicle, leading to their apprehension by the police at the officer’s residence on the planned date.
Almar Heath, Jackson, Lemonious, Barker-Campbell, and two unidentified individuals face charges related to the conspiracy to murder the corrections officer. Legal representatives for Heath and Barker-Campbell declined to comment, while Jackson’s counsel did not respond to inquiries from CBC News. Lemonious currently lacks legal representation.
During the investigation into the murder plot, York police discovered that Toronto police Const. Timothy Barnhardt unlawfully accessed the officer’s information on the MTO database. Barnhardt’s legal team intends to defend him in court rather than engaging with the media.
The court filing notes that the suspect vehicle was observed near the prison official’s residence two days before the planned takedown. The official’s grandfather encountered armed suspects at the door shortly after arriving home from work. The suspects fled in the blue Acura, which was later spotted near the residence again, leading to the arrests following police surveillance.
Additionally, a video of the blue Acura was found on Jackson’s phone, showing Jackson and Lemonious allegedly coordinating a shooting incident at a restaurant. The video indicated a malfunction in the Acura, prompting the use of another vehicle in the shooting episode.