Charges laid in ‘gang-war’ kidnapping
Two 17-year-olds abducted, beaten this month, police say
Toronto police say two teenage gang members were kidnapped and tortured in retaliation for a condo shootout earlier this month.
Three men have been charged in the incident, and police are seeking two more.
According to investigators, early on April 19, members of the Young Buck Killers gang were partying in an Airbnb-rented condo on the 25th floor of a building near Front St. and Blue Jays Way.
The revelers heard that members of a rival gang, the Queens Drive Crips, planned to show up uninvited. Four Young Bucks looked for the gatecrashers. When they came back upstairs, the Queen Drive Crips were waiting for them in the hallway.
Security footage shows the gang members opening fire as the elevator doors open.
Police do not believe anyone was seriously injured in the shootout.
Later the same day, two17-year-olds involved with the Queens Drive Crips were kidnapped when they arrived at a Swansea Mews townhouse complex that police allege is associated with the Young Buck Killers.
In a news conference Thursday, Staff Insp. Mike Earl said police believe the kidnapping was in retaliation for the condo ambush.
“I wouldn’t call this an ‘innocent stranger’ kidnapping,” he said. “This is basically a gang-war kidnapping.”
The two boys were tied to chairs and beaten, threatened with a gun and forced to play Russian roulette with a loaded handgun. At one point, a shot was fired on the property.
Police were called to the area twice during this time on reports of suspicious activity but were unable to find anything. After police showed up, the kidnappers moved the boys to locations in the Flemingdon Park and Lawrence Heights neighbourhoods, the investigators allege.
Earl said they were tied to chairs again and beaten throughout the day. It is also alleged they were forced to perform sexual acts. Ransom demands were made to the boys’ families. Police were notified and began investigating.
A ransom was eventually paid, and the boys were released on April 21.
On April 23, police arrested Quinton Gardiner, 19, one of the Young Bucks’ leaders. He was charged with kidnapping for ransom, assault with a weapon, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and three weapons offences.
As part of the investigation, police searched an apartment on Shaughnessy Blvd. near Don Mills Rd. and Sheppard Ave. E. Officers found a loaded handgun in the home and arrested two men and a 16-year-old youth.
Akli Whyte, 23, faces 10 charges related to possession of the gun. Deshawn Walters, 18, faces nine weapon charges. The16-year-old, who cannot be identified, faces seven charges.
Earl said police are still looking for two people in connection with the kidnapping. They have issued warrants for Lincoln Anthony Richards, 23, and Thai-Shay Gordon, 17.