Crime

Criminal activity

Thief caught stealing plants from the Railpath

This evening, a local resident witnessed someone digging up and stealing plants from the West Toronto Railpath. I received the following email and photos that describe what happened:
Railpath plant thiefRailpath plant thief

I was cycling under the Wallace Avenue bridge about 8 p.m. on Thursday evening. As I cycled through the plaza underneath the bridge I noticed a man digging in the flower bed close to Wallace Avenue where tall white daisies are growing.

I thought at first he was a volunteer planting flowers and kept cycling. My three year old son made a fuss about the rail mural as we cycled south on the Railpath and we ended up turning around and returning to the plaza underneath the bridge. That's when I noticed this man in his late 20's/early 30's with dark hair potting three plants and walking away. I confronted him about why he was taking the plants. He said they were wild flowers and they would grow back. I told him they were planted just recently and he was a thief. He made a fast exit up the stairs of the Wallace bridge as I chastised him. I took two pictures with my iPhone, but could not chase him down because I had my two kids with me on the bike.

Two men under the bridge witnessed the incident and said nothing. Two young women, possibly students, walking up the stairs saw the confrontation, but said nothing.

Despite the nominal value of the plants, I still found myself P.O. at the level of selfishness it takes to steal plants from a public park.

Junction Triangle Resident
June 23, 2011

Railpath plant thief: CloseupRailpath plant thief: Closeup

Wallace - Campbell Safety Walk

The following flyer comes from Councillor Ana Bailão's office. You can download the original PDF copy of this flyer, with English and Portuguese versions, here (340KB PDF file).

Wallace - Campbell Safety Walk

With members of the community, along with staff from many city departments, safety audits provide an opportunity to evaluate spaces from the standpoint of women, children and other vulnerable groups.

Signs at Protest 2

Signs at Protest 2

Top Soil Sign 2

Top Soil Sign 2

Signs at Protest 1

Signs at Protest 1

Unknown Vandal Encourages Locals to Break Law

Signs Encourage StealingSigns Encourage Stealing

An unknown vandal(s) has been knowingly encouraging locals to break the law by placing signs in the area saying there is free topsoil available at a City worksite at the corner of Paton and Rankin.

The signs, with no affiliation or contact information are designed to make local residents think that there is free top soil for the taking which is not the case at all. In fact a few locals have innocently fallen for this hoax only to feel terrible about it later. At casual glance these signs look like the kind of handmade sign that a neighbour puts up to announce a yard sale or say its OK to take away an item that has been put out. No wonder a few people fell for it.

This is stealing and may seem like a great idea or a funny prank but everybody in the community pays in the end when people help themselves (or cowardly) encourage others to innocently help themselves to materials that belong to all of us. Every City department is under financial duress these days so taking supplies only makes it harder for them to pay for all their projects, in this case for the Parks Department.

The Police have been notified and they have taken some signs as evidence. If anybody sees the person(s) putting up these signs or recognizes the handwriting please contact 11 Division immediately.

Stealing from the Parks Department is pretty sad and an attack on the community. It also sets a bad example for youth. Lets hope the community and the Police can find this vandal (s).

Due to all of the flaming, bickering, and fighting, comments have been closed on this article.

Signs Encourage Stealing

Signs Encourage Stealing

Correction

Correction

Rally in support of Bill 56

Local resident Jack Fava and MPP Tony Ruprecht have organized a march/rally in our neighbourhood on Saturday March 21st in support of provincial Bill 56, Unlawful Firearms in Vehicles Act, 2008.

Last night's robbery, shooting, and train crash

A troubling series of events occurred last night in our neighbourhood: The Beer Store on Symington Ave. was robbed, which led to a police chase, an officer being shot (grazed on the head) and a police car being hit by a train at the Wallace Ave. crossing.

Here are some details from the Toronto Police news release:

Police officer shot during robbery investigation,
Two men face a total of 26 charges, shotgun seized

Broadcast time: 11:12
Sunday, January 25, 2009

Hold Up Squad
416−808−7350

On Saturday, January 24, 2009, just after 7:30 p.m., police responded to an armed robbery call at The Beer Store, 323 Symington Avenue.

It is alleged that:

  • police responded and located two suspects in the area of Wallace Avenue,
  • as police approached, one of the suspects began to shoot at the officers, and gunfire was exchanged,
  • one officer was struck in the forehead by a shotgun pellet.

The officer was taken to hospital with minor injuries. He was treated and released.

Two suspects were arrested shortly thereafter.

Jeron Powell, 32, of Toronto, is charged with:

  1. Five counts of Robbery While Armed with a Firearm,
  2. two counts of Disguise with Intent,
  3. Conspiracy to Commit and Indictable Offence,
  4. three counts of Attempted Murder While Using a Firearm,
  5. two counts of Possession of a Firearm Knowing its Possession is Unauthorized,
  6. Unauthorized Presence of a Firearm in a Motor Vehicle,
  7. Possession of a Firearm Contrary to Prohibition Order,
  8. Possession of Property Obtained by Crime (under),
  9. Possession of a Prohibited Firearm with Ammunition.

Craig Buckle, 29, of Toronto, is charged with:

  1. Conspiracy to Commit Indictable Offence,
  2. Three counts of Robbery While Armed with a Firearm,
  3. Disguise with Intent,
  4. Possession of a Firearm with Ammunition,
  5. Possession of a Firearm Knowing its Possession is Unauthorized,
  6. Unauthorized Presence of a Firearm in a Motor Vehicle,
  7. Possession of a Firearm Contrary to Prohibition Order.

Both accused are scheduled to appear in court at Old City Hall, on Sunday, January 25, 2009, room 101, 1 p.m.

The Toronto Police Service would like to thank the public for their support and concern during this investigation. The Service would also like to thank officers from 11, 12, and 13 Divisions, the Gun and Gang Task Force, TAVIS, ETF, PDS, the Hold Up Squad, as well as the York Regional Police Air Support, for their assistance.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416−808−1100, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416−222−TIPS (8477), online at www.222tips.com, or text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637).

Constable Wendy Drummond, Public Information, for Detective Peter Hans, Hold Up Squad

Jack Fava has been in touch with Adam Giambrone's office, and they are working along with Tony Ruprecht and Mario Silva to organize a community safety meeting as a followup to this incident.

We will post more information here as it comes in.

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