Probation for carjacking

One of four teenagers arrested in January following the armed carjacking of a taxi has been released from custody. Nineteen-year-old Dante Young pleaded guilty Friday in Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines to several charges, including assault with a weapon and uttering threats.

He was sentenced to time served and placed on probation for 30 months.

Court was told that on Jan. 15 at about 2:30 a.m., a cab driver picked up four teenagers and drove them to the intersection of St. Paul Street West and Louth Street in St. Catharines.

The quartet, which included two 17year-olds and a 16-year-old, refused to pay the fare and fled the vehicle. The driver chased the group. The teens ran back to the cab, followed by the driver. When one of the teens brandished a handgun at the driver, he backed away and the teens drove off in his cab.

Niagara Regional Police subsequently arrested all four suspects and recovered the stolen car.

“The gentleman’s behaviour appears to be escalating,” said assistant Crown attorney Stephanie Ford, before asking the court to impose a sentence of six months. “It’s a concerning pattern of behaviour.”

Defence counsel David Protomanni told the judge his client had a difficult childhood and was using alcohol and cocaine at the time of the carjacking.

“He ended up hanging out with the wrong crowd and making terrible decisions,” he said.

Protomanni advocated for a sentence of time served, noting Young had spent the equivalent of four months behind bars in pretrial custody.

In an unrelated matter, Young was arrested in August following an altercation at a St. Catharines apartment complex. He pleaded guilty Friday.

Court heard a female tenant confronted him over the fact he was hoarding garbage in his unit, resulting in maggots and unpleasant odours. During the confrontation, the defendant threatened the woman and punched her in the head several times.

Seventy-one select Beer Store outlets across the province will begin accepting empties on Monday.