news
This Week In Crime: February 3-9
Each week, Torontoist chooses the most interesting cases from the Toronto Police Service crime blotter. All charges are alleged until proven under law.
A bunch of Young Offenders aren’t up to any good; a driver flees the scene of an accident that kills another; how $5 million in diamonds were stolen; a scumbag defrauds day care centres; and have you even heard of Safer Internet Day?
FEBRUARY 4: Three people are shot at a house party in Scarborough; a 17-year-old boy was killed. Three suspects are sought, and a boy turns himself in five days later after police received temporary judicial authorization to identify the boy, who normally would be protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The YCJA also prohibits publishing the identity of the victim without court permission.
FEBRUARY 5: A 15-year-old boy is arrested for two counts of sexual assault and one count of criminal harassment for incidents occurring in the Teesdale Place area. He is also protected as a Young Offender.
FEBRUARY 5: A Mazda Tribute t-boned a Chrysler Cirrus, killing the driver of the Chrysler and sending his wife to hospital. The 23-year-old driver of the Mazda SUV fled on foot and was later arrested, facing four charges.
FEBRUARY 6: Over $5 million in diamonds are reported stolen from Gemstar, a diamond distributor on Finch Avenue West. The suspects cut telephone lines which disabled the security system, then cut-open two safes containing raw and cut diamonds. Huh. We thought that wire-cutting thing only worked in the movies.
FEBRUARY 7: The Toronto Police Service join 37-countries and over 100 not-for-profit organizations in Safer Internet Day. TPS employees and their families attended a session to learn tips and strategies on how to keep the internet safe for their families. This is similar to a presentation dubbed “Train the Trainers” given to school liaison officers last month, which would have had a snappier name like “Train the Trainers to Catch a Predator” if Dateline NBC was involved.
FEBRUARY 9: A warrant is implemented for the arrest of a 60-year-old Toronto bookkeeper wanted for defrauding 21 day care centres, allegedly stealing approximately $755,000 over a four-month period. The man was providing accounting, payroll and tax services to the centres, who are now required to reimburse the government for lost funds. The Fraud Squad laid 42 charges against the man, who is believed to have fled to Nairobi, Kenya. Kenya doesn’t allow extradition orders and the suspect can only be arrested if he returns to Canada or enters another country that allows for extradition.
Police cruiser photo (crop) by photendo in the Torontoist Flickr pool. Some data are based on preliminary information and may not be verified. Crime classifications may change at a later date.