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According to a person close to him, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told this newspaper that despite his past, Yonis was a good man whose family and friends mourn the loss of a “smart, caring” man.

“He never hurt anybody and he would go to the moon and back for the people he loved.”

Up until his death, police believed Yonis was tied to gang and drug-dealing activity in the city’s south end.

“Not everything is what it seems and the police are wrong with their suspicions,” the person close to him said.

“He never turned his back on anyone and he never stopped loving the people he loved, no matter what.”

The person said that while Yonis made mistakes in life, “no one deserves to have their life taken away.”

Yonis was due to appear in court Friday on a charge of failing to appear for a previous court date. He had only ever been convicted with failing to comply with conditions imposed by the court, being unlawfully in a dwelling with the intent to commit a crime and simple drug possession.

Police continue to investigate his killing — the city’s 17th of the year. No arrests have been made.

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Syogaretnam@postmedia.com

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