‘Pathetic parasites’ face robbery charges
Police arrest 16 gang members in armed and violent spree throughout southern Ontario
Police have arrested 16 men and are looking for three others in connection with a spree of 37 robberies they say involved a group of “pathetic parasites” who are members of two Toronto gangs.
The violent robberies, between May and November, targeted banks and retail stores and involved getaway cars and firearms stolen from different cities in southern Ontario, Staff-Insp. Mike Earl told a news conference Thursday.
Earl said the suspects are members of the Complex Crip Gangsters and the Treyy Money Gang, which are based in northwest Toronto.
“It’s much like a criminal organization,” Earl said, describing the suspects as “a well-orchestrated group of thugs” who were arrested with the help of police in York Region, Peel, Guelph, Halton, Hamilton, Durham and Barrie.
Sixteen of the robberies, some of which involved street robberies and home invasions, took place in Toronto, and another 13 remain unsolved.
Police say 18 vehicles were stolen in Toronto, Guelph, Halton and Peel between May and July for use in the robberies.
“This is a very difficult case . . . You’d almost need an analyst from the CIA to put this together, because of the amount of mixing and matching of these individuals,” Earl said.
According to investigators, the gang members would interchange roles of stealing cars, being either the armed robber or the getaway driver.
During the robberies, the suspects “terrorized” the victims with various firearms. “They were not afraid to use physical force to get their way,” Earl said.
When asked about the gangs’ roots in the city’s northwest, which has been plagued by gun violence this year, Earl said those arrested could be suspects in other crimes.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that some of these people should be looked at as persons of interest for other violent crimes in these neighbourhoods,” he said.
Investigators are hoping the public will assist in identifying more members, as recruitment into the gangs appears to be “never-ending,” Earl said.
“I don’t think it’s over . . . Until we actually collapse this entire gang, it’s not over. We have to keep working on this so they can’t rebuild their roster.
“If we can get rid of the top guys that are actually doing the recruitment from taking the kids — probably some of them with no records — and turning them into thugs . . . that’s our goal.”