At the exact moment bullets began to fly on Danzig St. on July 16, 2012, the man whom police alleged killed two people that night was in the lobby of a Scarborough highrise, blocks away.

That revelation led to the sudden withdrawal on Friday of two counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, reckless discharge of a firearm and 23 counts of aggravated assault charges, one for each person injured, against Shaquan “Bam Bam” Mesquito.

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At the time, Toronto police Chief Bill Blair said the charges were “a very significant milestone in this investigation.”

But just one month later, police discovered footage on surveillance video from 3847 Lawrence Ave. E. that placed Mesquito inside the highrise while gunfire was erupting at the now infamous Danzig St. neighbourhood barbecue.

It was far from exoneration for Mesquito, however.

“Just because he wasn’t at the scene didn’t mean he couldn’t still be connected to the murder,” Mesquito’s defence lawyer Liam O’Connor said outside court Friday.

In the immediate aftermath of the gunfight, Mesquito sent out messages on social media, claiming responsibility for the shooting. He also provided a false alibi for his whereabouts during the shooting.

In short, there was still “significant evidence” suggesting Mesquito played a role in the gunfight, Staff Insp. Greg McLane told the Star Friday.

“He didn’t have to be at the location to do that, because in this day and age we have social media, we have phones, we have all different types of things,” he said.

As soon as the security footage was discovered, the investigation into Mesquito’s involvement turned to his possible link to an alleged Danzig shooter, who cannot be identified as he was a youth at the time. (That man is set to stand trial next year on two counts of second-degree murder and 23 counts of aggravated assault).

That meant obtaining and sifting through phone records, said Det. Sgt. Peter Trimble, lead investigator in the case. This exhaustive stage of the investigation took approximately a year.

Meanwhile, Mesquito was facing a gun possession charge — police found a loaded .22-calibre revolver when they arrested him — and the possibility of being charged with counselling to commit murder.

“So it wasn’t as if they were going to let him out just because they found that he wasn’t there,” O’Connor said.

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In the end, no connection was found between Mesquito and the youth charged with murder.

Superior Court Justice John McMahon commended the homicide squad for their thorough investigation.

“Often police are criticized for having tunnel vision. In this case the kaleidoscope vision of these officers and their search for the truth in the interest of justice ensured no miscarriage of justice took place,” McMahon said.