A teenager who allegedly took part in a number of armed pharmacy and bank robberies across the Greater Toronto Area is facing a laundry list of charges in connection with the “takeover-style” heists.

The 15-year-old Toronto boy was a member of a group of boys who Toronto police said committed at least 14 pharmacy robberies and one financial institution robbery in the city, as well as in Peel and Halton regions, between Sept. 3 and Nov. 21.

 

During those incidents, police said, the boys travelled in stolen vehicles to each location and demanded narcotics and cash in what investigators described as “takeover-style robberies.”

“At some incidents, they used a handgun, some used a knife, and other suspects used physical violence to control any shoppers or employees inside the stores,” police said in a news release issued Friday.

According to investigators, in most of the pharmacy robberies, the suspects were able to make off with quantities of cash and narcotics. However, in the case of the bank robbery, police said the suspects left empty-handed.

The group of boys fled each scene in an awaiting vehicle, police said.

Following a multi-jurisdictional investigation by police in Toronto, York, Peel, and Halton regions, investigators were able to identify at least one of the boys involved in the robberies.

On Wednesday, officers with the service’s Hold Up Squad executed a search warrant in connection with the investigation and took a 15-year-old boy into custody.

The suspect, who can’t be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, is charged with nine counts of robbery with a firearm, 15 counts of disguise with intent, 13 counts of conspiracy to commit indictable offence, and eight counts of unauthorized possession of a firearm, and a number of other charges with multiple counts.

He was scheduled to appear in a Toronto courtroom on Dec. 29.

The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information related to the series of robberies is asked to contact police at 416-808-7350 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477) or www.222tips.com.