A Toronto teenager recently pleaded guilty to a carjacking offence stemming from an incident that occurred in the east end of the city in June.
The accused, who was 17 at the time and can't be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was convicted of using an imitation handgun to rob a person of a vehicle.
On Oct. 4, Ontario Court Justice Romuald Kwolek heard a rideshare driver had picked up two males in the 700 block of Queen Street East in the early morning hours of June 24.
He drove them to a motel on Trunk Road, where the pair, one of whom was in the front seat, pointed firearms at him and ordered him to get out of the vehicle, prosecutor Gary Knox said.
They took off in his vehicle and he contacted city police at 2:17 a.m.
The teens headed towards Sudbury and the law caught up with them near Thessalon.
Police reports at the time indicated the Sault cops alerted the Ontario Provincial Police that the vehicle's GPS showed it leaving the Thessalon area.
OPP officers spotted the vehicle at a gas station in Mississauga First Nation and arrested the pair in what was described as a "high-risk takedown."
The Crown and defence lawyer Ken Walker recommended his now-18-year-client be sentenced to six months in a youth detention facility — less credit for the time he's been in custody since his arrest.
This would be followed by one year probation.
Walker said the North York teen is a Grade 12 student.
If this matter had gone to trial, there would have been issues about which one of these individuals did what — who it was and wasn't, he told Kwolek.
Walker cited the teen's guilty plea as mitigating.
Somebody robbing a person of a vehicle with an imitation firearm is a serious charge, Knox said, also noting the accused is a young person who has taken responsibility for his actions.
When Kwolek imposed sentence, he described this as a very serious offence that "demands a period of incarceration even for a young person."
Imagine how frightened the driver must have been, the judge said, adding incidents such as this affect the community and safety.
He agreed the teen's plea, along with his lack of a criminal record, and the time he's already spent in custody, are mitigating factors.
The young offender, who has been in custody at the Donald Doucet Centre, faced a further 16 days incarceration, plus eight days under supervision.
He will be on probation for 12 months, with conditions that require him to report to a youth worker and take any recommended counselling and rehabilitative programs .
As well, the teen can have no contact with the victim and must remain 50 metres away from him.
"The probation order will help you stay out of trouble," Kwolek told him.
If he wants to send a letter of apology to the man, he can deliver it through his youth worker, the judge indicated.
Kwolek also imposed a two-year weapons prohibition and a DNA order.
The balance of other counts stemming from the incident were withdrawn.