Toronto teen pleads guilty to armed carjacking in Sault

A Toronto teenager recently pleaded guilty to carjacking stemming from an incident in the city’s east end in June.

The accused, who was 17 at the time and cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was convicted of using an imitation handgun to steal a vehicle from a person.

On October 4, Ontario Court Justice Romuald Kwolek heard that a rideshare driver stopped two men in the 700 block of Queen Street East in the early morning hours of June 24.

He drove them to a motel on Trunk Road, where the two men, one of whom was sitting in the front seat, pointed guns at him and ordered him out of the vehicle, the prosecutor said Gary Knox.

They left in his vehicle and he contacted the municipal police at 2:17 a.m.

The teenagers headed towards Sudbury and justice caught up with them near Thessalon.

Police reports at the time indicated that Sault police alerted the Ontario Provincial Police that the vehicle’s GPS showed it was leaving the Thessalon area.

OPP officers spotted the vehicle at a gas station in Mississauga First Nation and arrested the two men in what was described as a “high-risk takedown.”

Crown and defense lawyer Ken Walker recommended that his client, now 18, be sentenced to six months in a youth detention center – less credit for time served. he has been in detention since his arrest.

That would be followed by a year of probation.

Walker said the North York teen was a 12th grade student.

If this case had gone to trial, there would have been questions about which of these individuals did what — who it was and who it wasn’t, he told Kwolek.

Walker cited the teen’s guilty plea as mitigation.

Someone stealing a vehicle from a person with an imitation firearm is a serious charge, Knox said, also noting that the accused is a young person who has taken responsibility for his actions.

When Kwolek imposed his sentence, he described it as a very serious offense that “requires a period of incarceration, even for a young person.”

Imagine how scared the driver must have been, the judge said, adding that such incidents affect the community and safety.

He acknowledged that the teenager’s plea, as well as the lack of a criminal record and the time he has already spent in detention, constitute mitigating factors.

The young offender, who was detained at the Donald Doucet Center, still faced 16 days of incarceration, plus eight days under supervision.

He will be on probation for 12 months, with conditions requiring him to report to a youth worker and complete all recommended counseling and rehabilitation programs.

In addition, the teenager cannot have any contact with the victim and must stay 50 meters from her.

“The probation order will help you stay out of trouble,” Kwolek told him.

If he wishes to send the man a letter of apology, he can deliver it through his youth worker, the judge said.

Kwolek also imposed a two-year weapons ban and a DNA order.

Other charges stemming from the incident were withdrawn.