Toronto man wanted in Hajtamiri abduction case arrested in California

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A Toronto man, who police allegedly helped kidnap Elnaz Hajtamiri, has been arrested in the United States, where he was also wanted for a deadly nightclub shooting.

OPP said Deshawn Davis, 36, was arrested on Monday in northern California by U.S. authorities.

Hajtamiri was last seen in January 2022 when, OPP said, suspects in balaclavas and wearing fake police vests abducted her from her relative’s home in Wasaga Beach.

OPP have charged her ex-boyfriend with first-degree murder, as well as for Hajtamiri’s alleged “invasion-style” abduction and her alleged assault in a Richmond Hill parking lot just weeks before that.

Davis, meanwhile, was wanted by U.S. authorities for allegedly opening fire in a Miami nightclub, killing one man and injuring two women in what the U.S. Marshals Service called a targeted attack with a “gang nexus.”

He was on the U.S. Marshals’ 15 most wanted list for the May 7, 2023, shooting that saw Lowell “Lo” Grissom, a Miami rapper and talent scout for Chris Brown Entertainment, allegedly gunned down at GALA nightclub in Miami Beach.

“I commend the men and women of the Marshals Service and our partners for the capture of Deshawn Davis,” U.S. Marshals director Ronald L. Davis said, via 7 News Miami. “It is our hope that this apprehension brings justice to his (alleged) victims and safety to the community.”

Marshals previously said, via the Toronto Sun‘s Brad Hunter, that Davis slipped into the U.S. and headed to South Florida, where he allegedly hooked up with a gang. The U.S. investigation into Davis had been elevated to “major case” status, with a reward of up to $7,500 offered for information leading to his arrest.

Hunter also reported that Davis hit the “big time” in Canada earlier this year after being added to the Bolo Program’s 25 most wanted list in connection with the Hajtamiri case.

OPP said investigators will continue to collaborate with law enforcement in the U.S. to further the investigation into Hajtamiri’s kidnapping.

— With files from Toronto Sun staff

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