Police have arrested four youths, some as young as 14, in connection with a series of carjackings and pharmacy robberies that took place across Toronto and York Region over a two-week period.
It is alleged that the group is responsible for at least three carjackings and eight pharmacy robberies between Sept. 19 and Oct. 4.
In a news release, police say that one or two of the boys would approach vehicles while pointing a handgun at the occupant and demand their keys and property.
The boys would then drive away from the scene in the stolen vehicle, police say.
It is further alleged that some of the stolen vehicles were then used in a series of “takeover-style” robberies at pharmacies.
Police say that during those robberies one of the boys would produce a handgun and make a demand for cash and narcotics.
The group would then flee into the awaiting vehicle.
Following the rash of robberies, the Toronto Police Hold Up Squad began a joint investigation with York Regional Police, which led to the identification of several suspects.
Police say that officers then observed the boys getting into a stolen vehicle on Oct. 6, which had been taken during an earlier carjacking.
Officers subsequently stopped that vehicle, with assistance from the Toronto Police Emergency Task Force, and took the boys into custody.
Police say that the subsequent execution of two search warrants ultimately led to the recovery of a replica handgun, a large quantity of narcotics as well as clothing worn during the robberies.
The suspects include three 14-year-old boys and one 16-year-old boy, who cannot be identified under the terms of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
They are facing a combined 83 charges.
