A young man who cannot be identified was found not guilty in the death of Jane Creba Tuesday.
G.C., now 21, was charged with manslaughter. He was under 18 at the time of the murder and is the second youth to be tried in the shooting from Boxing Day 2005.
Four adults also accused of manslaughter saw their charges dropped in November.
"They're trying to extend the law to something it was never meant for, which resulted in six innocent people being charged," lawyer David Midanik said outside the court on Tuesday.
"These proceedings against G.C. cost in the millions," he added.
G.C. was never accused of firing a weapon on December 26, 2005 and Ontario Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy suggested in her ruling that the former suspect's mere presence in no way warranted a conviction.
"A person cannot be guilty of
manslaughter merely because he was present when his companions committed murder.
He must have some actual connection to the wrongdoing," Ontario Superior Court
Justice Anne Molloy said in handing down her decision.
Creba, 15, was shopping with her family near Yonge and Dundas streets when she was caught in the crossfire. Six other people were injured.
The crime became a flashpoint for the city's anger over what had been a year
rife with gun murders.
In late December, 27-year-old
Jeremiah Valentine pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the shooting death
and was given a life sentence with no chance of parole for 12 years.
In 2008, a jury found Jorrell
Simpson-Rowe guilty of second-degree murder in Creba's death.
Simpson-Rowe was 17 at the time
of the killing but was sentenced as an adult. The decision
meant he received an automatic life sentence, with no chance of parole for seven
years.
With files from The Canadian Press