

Chris Fox, CP24.com





Police say that a group of “pathetic parasites” with ties to gangs operating in the northwest corner of Toronto have been responsible for 50 violent robberies over the last seven months.

The robberies have taken place at retail stores and banks throughout the Greater Toronto Area as well as in Hamilton and Guelph.

So far, police say they have arrested 16 male suspects and identified three others who are being sought in connection with the robberies.

The suspects are predominantly made up of members of the Complex Crip Gangsters and the Treyy Money Gang, according to police.

“These individuals are known gang members or associates and they are spreading like a bad smell through the GTA and committing violent crimes,” Staff Insp. Mike Earl told reporters on Thursday. “These individuals have been robbing banks and retail stores with as little as a note in a bank robbery to a sawed-off shotgun, a sawed-off bolt action rifle and handguns in some other robberies.”

Earl said that police have laid charges in connection with 37 robberies so far but believe the same group is responsible for another 13 unsolved robberies.

The problem, Earl said, is that the group keeps on recruiting new members to carry out their crimes, even as police make arrests.

“We were taking some players off earlier this summer and more new just people came involved and my concern is that this hasn’t really stopped,” he said. “Until we actually collapse this entire gang it’s not over.”

Stolen vehicles used in robberies

Earl says that a total of 18 vehicles were stolen from Toronto and Guelph as well as Halton and Peel regions between May 16 and July 13.

Those vehicles have then been used as getaway cars in many of the robberies, he said.

Earl said that in many cases the suspects are getting away with cash, lottery tickets and cigarettes.

He said that the suspects have also left a path of terror in their wake, leaving a number of people with bumps, bruises and other injuries after striking them with weapons during the course of the robberies.

“Some of these robberies, for example one in Milton, they (the attendant) were working by themselves and in comes three individuals all armed with firearms,” Earl said. “It is unbelievable fear that we can’t even really describe. That’s why these individuals need to be taken off the street and kept off the street.”

The 16 suspects who have been arrested are all charged in connection with multiple robberies. The most prolific suspect, 19-year-old Jerry Lewis, is facing 73 charges, including four counts of robbery and 14 counts of robbery with a firearm.

Of the 37 robberies in which charges have been filed, 16 of them have taken place in the City of Toronto.

The outstanding suspects who are wanted on arrest warrants are Netson Jones, 20, of Toronto, Jahdine Desir, 18, of Toronto, and a 17-year-old who cannot be identified under the terms of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Here is a full list of the 37 robberies in which police have laid charges:

1. Monday, May 16, 2016 - 201 Lloyd Manor Road, Toronto

2. Wednesday, May 18, 2016 - 210 Mohawk Road East, Hamilton

3. Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - 2290 Lakeshore Road, Halton

4. Thursday, June 2, 2016 - 480 Mapleview Road, Barrie

5. Friday, June 3, 2016 - 2890 Steeles Avenue East, York

6. Friday, June 3, 2016 - 1355 Danforth Road, Toronto

7. Sunday, June 5, 2016 - 1291 Wilson Avenue, Toronto

8. Sunday, June 5, 2016 - 10 Dixon Road, Toronto

9. Monday, June 20, 2016 - 2 Antrim Court, Toronto

10. Monday, June 20, 2016 - 7164 Airport Road, Peel

11. Tuesday, June 21, 2016 - 2 Antrim Court, Toronto

12. Sunday, June 26, 2016 - 1979 Weston Road, Toronto

13. Monday, June 27, 2016 - 1065 North Service Road, Peel

14. Tuesday, June 28, 2016 - 505 Laval Drive, Durham

15. Tuesday, June 28, 2016 - 10 Dewside Drive, Peel

16. Thursday, June 30, 2016 - 5100 Rutherford Road, York

17. Thursday, June 30, 2016 - 145 Woodbridge Avenue, York

18. Wednesday, July 6, 2016 - 15255 Yonge Street, York

19. Thursday, July 7, 2016 - 404 Dundas Street West, Durham

20. Thursday, July 7, 2016 - 496 Edinburgh Road South, Guelph

21. Thursday, July 7, 2016 - 1240 Steeles Avenue East, Halton

22. Thursday, July 7, 2016 - 309 Hays Boulevard, Halton

23. Sunday, July 10, 2016 - 54 Evans Avenue, Toronto

24. Friday, July 15, 2016 - 1440 Royal York Road, Toronto

25. Thursday, August 25, 2016 - 184 Parkview Avenue, Toronto

26. Sunday, September 11, 2016 - 1011 Upper Middle Road, Halton

27. Wednesday, October 12, 2016 - 290 York Hill Boulevard, York

28. Friday, October 14, 2016 - 350 Burnhamthorpe Road East, Peel

29. Friday, October 14, 2016 - 327 Bronte Street South, Halton

30. Monday, October 17, 2016 - 85 Clearview Heights, Toronto

31. Tuesday, October 25, 2016 - 140 La Rose Avenue, Toronto

32. Thursday, October 27, 2016 - 2721 Jane Street, Toronto

33. Thursday, October 27, 2016 - 102 Lambton Avenue, Toronto

34. Thursday, October 27, 2016 - 90 Imperial Road, Guelph

35. Thursday, October 27, 2016 - 926 Paisley Road, Guelph

36. Saturday, October 29, 2016 - 965 Jane Street, Toronto

37. Wednesday, November 9, 2016 - 2557 Eglinton Avenue West, Toronto