Accused asked friend for ‘untraceable firearm' before Bakir murder, jury hears

Hamilton Spectator

15-05-2025

Alessandro Giammichele asked for an 'untraceable firearm' in the summer of 2018, his friend Jason Davies testified Wednesday at the John Sopinka Courthouse.
Davies said shortly after the pair met in early 2018, Giammichele told him he had a gun and a concealed carry permit. So when Giammichele made the request, Davies asked him why he needed an 'untraceable firearm.'
'He wanted one and he needed one,' Davies said Giammichele told him.
Giammichele is charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Marko Bakir, 31, in November 2018. He has pleaded not guilty.
Assistant Crown attorney Elise Quinn previously told the jury of eight men and four women that
while Giammichele didn't physically pull the trigger, he played a 'fundamental role' in the killing
. Quinn said the alleged 'hitman' who shot Bakir five times in his driveway was Abdelaziz Ibrahim, who is now dead.
In 2018, Bakir, who had recently been awarded a $362,000 settlement following a motorcycle crash, lent Giammichele $100,000 to invest, Quinn previously told the jury. The loan came with a contract and repayment schedule —
but Giammichele didn't pay it back
.
Davies told the jury he saw the accused with a firearm at Giammichele's uncle Vlad Sulug's Hendershot Road shop a month or a month and a half after the request.
That was roughly a month or a month and half before Bakir was killed, Davies testified. After seeing him with the gun, Davies said, Giammichele told him he 'didn't need an untraceable gun anymore.'
Davies also told the jury Giammichele had the password for his phone and often used it. He testified he saw Giammichele at his uncle's shop Nov. 22, 2018 — the day Bakir was killed — and Giammichele used Davies' phone that day.
The jury saw text messages sent from an app on Davies' phone on the afternoon of Nov. 22 that read '157 Hendershot Road, Hamilton' at 2:52 p.m., followed by 'Please confirm appointment time, thanks' at 2:53 p.m.
Davies told the jury he did not send the messages, but under cross-examination from defence lawyer Susan Pennypacker, Davies said Giammichele 'would have had to have' sent the messages, as — despite being at the shop — he didn't know the Hendershot Road address.
'Why would I put in an address I don't even know?' he said. Davies also told the jury he learned about Bakir's murder from Giammichele the next day.
He testified at the time of Bakir's murder Giammichele drove a red Ford F-150 and a red Jeep Cherokee, but said Giammichele drove the F-150 more frequently.
A red F-150 — the same colour, make and model as Giammichele's — was captured on surveillance footage from two different cameras in Bakir's neighbourhood, Quinn told the court earlier in the trial.
During cross-examination, Pennypacker pressed Davies on which vehicle Giammichele drove around the time Bakir was killed, suggesting he was not sure about when Giammichele drove the red F-150.
He said Giammichele did drive the F-150 at the time of the murder, but said he wasn't sure how long after Nov. 22 he may have driven it.
Davies agreed with Pennypacker that Giammichele would often let other people drive his vehicles, adding he often drove them — including the F-150.
Davies, who lived with Giammichele for a month during the summer of 2018, testified that he was addicted to cocaine for a year and bought it from Giammichele. Davies agreed with Pennypacker that Giammichele had cash, a lot of vehicles, no job and was going to strip clubs and bringing strippers back to his home.
While Davies agreed Giammichele was not hiding that he had lots of money, was selling drugs and was 'partying all the time,' he did not believe Giammichele's father knew about his son's involvement in the drug trade.
The court also heard Wednesday from Logan Day, who lived in Hamilton from May 2017 to January 2020. He testified one of his roommates was friends with someone he knew as 'Zezo.'
Day told the court he did not know his real name at the time, but he later learned from police it was Abdelaziz Ibrahim.
He testified that Ibrahim visited with his girlfriend and stayed over at the apartment several times — including during November 2018. He told the jury he did not know Bakir or Giammichele.
The trial continues Thursday.