After being on the run for several months, Toronto rapper Top5 has reportedly been arrested in Los Angeles on Thursday.
The 22-year-old rapper, real name, Hassan Ali, faced a first-degree murder charge in May. He was also wanted for three counts of failure to comply with bail.
Earlier this year, Ali was one of two men arrested and charged following the shooting death of Hashim Omar Hashi on January 31.
The rapper was initially charged with accessory to murder, two counts of failing to comply with probation, and three drug-related offenses.
However, these charges were upgraded to include first-degree murder back in May.
In March, Ali was released from custody and was living under house arrest with an electric ankle monitor that investigators say he cut off and fled.
Death of Hashim Omar Hashi
According to Toronto Police, Hashi was shot multiple times on January 31, 2021, in the evening.
The victim was reportedly driving his car into the garage of an apartment when he was killed.
Responding officers said the vehicle the victim was driving rolled and hit the closed garage door. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Hashim Omar Hashi was reportedly innocent and had no gang affiliation.
“Mr. Hashi was not involved in any gang activity, nor was he involved in any gang affiliation. Mr. Hashi was a student studying accounting and worked part-time at the airport. He had a promising future, and he was a very well-respected young man,” a detective told CTV News Toronto.
Who is Top5?
Top5 rose to fame after Canadian rapper Drake promoted his song Shirt off Shawty and mentioned the rapper in his song, Grammy’s, in 2016.
Top5 has over 170,000 followers on Instagram and taunted law enforcement during his run. The rapper released music videos, Instagram Live sessions and conducted interviews with Hip Hop personality DJ Akademiks.
In one of his more brazen taunts, Top5 demanded a sit-down with Toronto mayor John Tory.
“You guys wanna link up? Call John Tory and tell him I fu**ing want a sit-down for fu**ing 30 minutes,” Top5 said during the Instagram Live, according to HipHopDX. “I wanna spit my facts, and he’ll spit his facts,” adding, “I run Toronto, you f**king goof.”
Top5 maintained his innocence. On his Instagram Live, Top5 wrote a cryptic message seemingly in reference to his impending murder case.
“The process has just started,” The Sun reports the rapper wrote just hours before his arrest.