Maple Leafs star Mitch Marner says that the arrest of two suspects who allegedly stole his Range Rover at gunpoint last May comes as a “great relief" and will hopefully allow him to move on from the “scary” incident once and for all.
Marner made the comment to reporters at a Leafs practice on Friday just hours after police confirmed that they had made arrests in two carjacking investigations in Etobicoke in the spring, including one outside a movie theatre near Islington Avenue and the Queensway involving Marner.
Police have never officially identified Marner as the victim in that incident, though the hockey player has now discussed it publicly on multiple occasions.
“It is good in that I probably don’t have to talk about it anymore, to be honest. Obviously, it is a moment you don’t want anyone you know personally or just anyone to be a part of,” he said on Friday. “It is a scary situation. It is a situation that I don’t think any person wants to be a part of or wants to experience, especially with a loved one…It is nice to have the closure.”
Police had previously said that two individuals were sitting in a Range Rover on the night of May 16 when a black Honda Civic pulled up and blocked the vehicle from leaving.
Two men armed with handguns are alleged to have then exited the Civic and demanded that the victims hand over their keys.
Police say that a third man later got out of the Civic and pointed a knife at one of the victims and demanded their cell phone.
The victims ultimately complied with the demands and the suspects sped off in the vehicle.
Speaking with reporters on Friday, Marner said that a detective assigned to the case gave him a call a “few days ago” and let him know that two suspects had been arrested.
He said that while he has been trying his best to “forget about” the ordeal and move on, the arrests do provide him with a degree of closure.
“I gave my thanks to them (the investigators) and my gratitude and appreciation because it wasn’t easy,” he said. “There wasn’t many cameras or anything around. The sun was going down, so it was tough to see anything. But they did a great job just sticking with it and getting the job done. I really appreciate the hard work they put in.”
The gunpoint robbery involving one of the Leafs biggest stars this spring came amid a rash of violent vehicle thefts across Toronto.
It was followed just a few days later by three armed carjackings that were committed across the city over a two-hour span.
A week later there was another six overnight carjackings reported across the GTA, including one where a man was pistol-whipped.
“You want this place to be safe as it should be and as it kind of always felt like. But this past year or so it really hasn’t felt like that. It has felt a little chaotic and crazy,” Marner, who grew up in Markham, told reporters Friday. “I think the cops have done a great job of trying to help out with that problem, though.”
In a press release on Friday, police said that they have recovered the 2021 Land Rover stolen in the May 16 robbery but are still looking for the other vehicle believed to have been stolen by the suspects near the Queensway and the West Mall one month later.
Christon Arman Johnson, 24, of Brampton, and Anas Adan Farah, 21, of Toronto, are facing a combined nine charges.
Police said that investigators continue to search for the third suspect in the May 16 carjacking. That suspect should be considered “armed and dangerous,” police say.
