York Regional Police charge 5 teens after daylight swarming
York Regional Police have laid charges against five teens after a man was swarmed by a group of youths armed with baseball bats, beaten and robbed in broad daylight earlier this week.
Police say a man was walking alone along Legnano Cres., in the Weston Road and Rutherford Road area, around 5:45 p.m. on Wednesday when he was approached by a group of teens carrying bats.
One of the teens was also carrying a knife and ordered the victim to hand over his belongings, police say. The suspects allegedly hit the victim several times with the bats before fleeing the scene on foot.
The victim was taken to hospital to be treated for his injuries.
Police found and arrested the suspects a short time after the incident. Investigators also seized firearms, knives, baseball bats and "a quantity of drugs and several weapons that are categorized as prohibited weapons under the Criminal Code of Canada," according to a news release.
Investigators believe the same suspects are responsible for several other similar incidents, including some that may not have been reported to police. They are asking anyone who believes they were victimized by the same group of youths to come forward, particularly because they uncovered some stolen goods.
Three 16-year-old males and a 15-year-old male, all from Vaughan, and a 17-year-old male from the town of King, are facing more than 160 charges, including:
- Robbery.
- Extortion.
- Uttering threats.
- Unauthorized possession of a weapon.
- Unauthorized possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle.
- Careless storage of a firearm.
- Possession cocaine.
- Possession for the purpose – cannabis.
- Possession of property obtained by crime.
The teens are all scheduled to appear at the Ontario Youth Court of Justice in Newmarket on June 10.
