Police arrest longtime `high-risk' fugitive in basement of parents' Tecumseh home
A convicted local criminal who skipped bail on the eve of his sentencing and then disappeared nine years ago was arrested Tuesday — in the basement of his parents' Tecumseh home.
Now, the parents and siblings of Gurfathe `Laddi' Kooner, 38, also face criminal charges for harbouring a fugitive.
A Windsor judge sentenced Kooner to a three-year federal prison term in April 2015 after he was convicted on 14 criminal counts related to firearms and fraud charges following a gunpoint takedown by Windsor police in Forest Glade in November 2009.
According to Det. Staff Sgt. Steve Sermet of the ROPE (Repeat Offender Parole Enforcement) squad, Kooner was considered dangerous and “a high-risk public safety concern” due to his association with firearms.
Sermet told the Windsor Star that ROPE — a multi-agency, provincial team that pursues those who are unlawfully at large — had previously been at the same local address. This time, police got lucky in a search of the home.
Sermet said Thursday that Kooner can expect additional prison time after a new charge of being unlawfully at large. His parents and siblings who were at the home at the time are now also each facing a charge of obstructing police.
According to Sermet, members of the OPP'S emergency response team knocked on the door at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday. With them were officers with the OPP tactical response unit, the ROPE squad and Windsor Police Service. After searching rooms, Kooner was found downstairs in the basement and arrested with “no problems at all,” said Sermet.
His most recent conviction stemmed from an informant's tip that had Windsor police follow Kooner from a Manning Road home in November 2009. He was observed tossing a bag out the window of his F-150 pickup before being pulled over.
The recovered bag contained guns and bullets. At the time, Kooner already had three weapon prohibition orders on him from six previous convictions for assault and failure to comply with court orders.
At his Superior Court trial in Windsor, the defence was unsuccessful in arguing that Kooner had been set up by police. The Crown was seeking a prison term of five to six years while the defence was seeking house arrest after claiming officers had used excessive force at the time of his apprehension and that Kooner had behaved during his five years on bail.
Between his conviction and his sentencing, Kooner had been the subject of a violent home invasion in Lakeshore in September 2014 in which his sister was shot.
Sermet could not say why it took so long to find and arrest the fugitive. Kooner sported a number of distinctive tattoos, including stylized Punjabi on the side of his neck, a tiger on his right forearm, barbed wire on his right wrist and tribal symbols on both forearms.
“ROPE will speak to family members and associates — we follow any tips we receive,” said Sermet, who is an OPP officer and the squad's operational manager.
To share a tip on federal or provincial parolees being sought for violating terms of their supervised release, you can contact ROPE at 1-416-808-5900 (toll-free 1-866870-7673) or Crime Stoppers anonymously at1-800-222-8477 or catchcrooks.com.