A Toronto teen who admitted to being one of four masked and hammer-wielding jewelry store thieves in an August 2025 daytime robbery at Barrie’s Georgian Mall has been sentenced.
The 17-year-old, whose identity is protected by the Youth Criminal Justice Act, pleaded guilty five months after he was arrested along with four other young men for a smash-and-grab at the Barrie mall just before 1 p.m. on Aug. 18.
The teen will not be released from custody yet while facing separate gun charges in Toronto this month.
Before sentencing the teen, the Barrie judge referenced a letter written to the court by the owner of Dia Amore Jewellers, who described worrying each day if another robbery would take place at his business, telling the court, “We live and work in fear,” adding, “What was taken from us was more than merchandise. Our sense of safety, peace, and security has been shattered. The emotional damage will stay with us longer than any financial loss.
It was back on Aug. 18, when the teen said he was one of four young men who ran into Dia Amore Jewellers with hammers in hand, smashing jewelry cases and grabbing everything they could get their hands on before fleeing in a stolen car that later crashed in a construction zone along Innisfil Beach Road. Dia Amore Jewellers had been victimized twice in 12 months.
The teen, who turns 18 in May, is the first of the five accused to plead guilty after being denied bail twice. Two of his co-accused, Ahmed Al-Saeed, 22, and Jahzyi Smith, 19, remain behind bars.
Al-Saeed, the only man from Barrie, had been working as a mechanic in the weeks prior to the jewelry store robbery.
Two youths, who are now 17 and 18, were bailed out by loved ones, including one young man police said was found with a gun on him when he was arrested. The court heard the youth had a terrible upbringing that included his mother dying at a young age and being abused by his uncle. The youth said he fell in with the wrong crowd.
Given enhanced credit of nine months for pre-sentence custody, the teen will be placed on probation for two years, including curfew. He is also barred from visiting the Georgian Mall.
His four co-accused return to court in March. The identities of those under 18 remain protected by the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The allegations against the accused have not been tested in court.
