Murder charges laid nearly 3 years after Sheydon Storer was shot in Hamilton driveway

Nearly three years after 24-year-old Sheydon Storer was shot and killed on his grandfather'sdriveway, Hamilton police have made arrests and laid murder charges.

Ahmed Issak Hussen, 23, and Kamaldeep Dhaliwal, 22, both from Hamilton, have been charged with first-degree murder.

Storer'sfamilyreleased a statement via the Hamlton Police Service (HPS)thanking detectives for their diligence in the investigation.

"We also want to thank the people who have come forward with any information, no matter how small, as we know these little things can make a world of difference," says the statement in thepolice news releaseissuedThursday.

"It's been a long two years and nine months of not having answers, but to get this confirmation has been a relief for our family and all those who loved Sheydon."

A third person, a 24-year-old woman from Edmonton, was charged with accessory after the fact to murder and obstructing a peace officer, according to the release.

Family kept in the loop, detective sergeant says

Police found Storer lying on his driveway on Dec. 21, 2022, in the area of Upper Wentworth and Mohawk Road. He was taken tohospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

He was suffering from a gunshot wound in what police called atargeted incident, according to police spokesperson JackiePenman.

Jason Cattle, detective sergeant in the investigation, told CBC Hamilton that investigatorskept the family in the loop as much as they could over the past three years.

"It's always hard when you're dealing with family because there's not a lot you can tell them, obviously."

He said that in cases like this, families can get frustrated with how little information is given, but he tried to assure them that the investigation was still going.

"That's just an unfortunate part of [this]we can't disclose evidence about our case and we don't want [anyone] leakingout what we're doing."

Cattle said the investigation was active, always with new evidence and leads to follow up on.

Video served as 'crucial piece of evidence'

One "crucial piece of evidence" was a video from nearby security cameras that captured a vehicle arriving just before the shooting and leaving right after, police said.

In January 2022, police released the video and asked the public for assistance in identifying the car, a "blue SUV or compact car with a white roof."

Around summer and fall of 2023, Cattle said, police identified two specific suspects, which led tothe homicide and intelligence units joining to form Project Ohio. This was donewith the purpose of investigating the killing of Storer, resulting in the arrestsofHussen andDhaliwal.

"Once we identified the two suspects, we became more aggressive in trying to pursue the investigation and gathering evidence to see who was involved in the murder of [Storer]," said Cattle.

Dhaliwal was arrested from a residence in Hamilton on Tuesday and Hussen was already in police custody atMaplehurst Correctional Complex for an unrelated incident when the charges were laid, according to Cattle.

He said although the case is far from over, it's a "nice feeling" being able to help the family find justice.

"It's still a long process, so we have to go through the courts now and everything, and this is a hard part for the family...so it's still a long haul for them."