CHAIR MAN? 30-year-old accused of throwing chair off downtown balcony

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A 30-year-old man is accused of tossing a chair over a highrise balcony near the Rogers Centre, narrowly missing several pedestrians as it crashed to the ground below last week.

In a story that is eerily reminiscent of the infamous 2019 “Chair Girl” incident, Toronto Police say officers responded to a “hazard” call near Front St. W. and John St. around 12:30 p.m. on Thursday.

“It is alleged that a man threw a chair off a 12th floor balcony, almost hitting three people walking on the sidewalk,” Const. Ashley Visser said in a statement released Saturday.

Fortunately, she said nobody was injured.

Investigators subsequently identified and arrested a suspect.

Josh Panag, of Brantford, is charged with mischief: endangering life, common nuisance and failing to comply with a release order.

Marcella Zoia, aka Chair Girl, was also charged with mischief causing danger to life after she threw a chair off a 45th-floor balcony at a downtown condo in February 2019.

That incident was captured on video that went viral when it was posted on Snapchat. And it garnered Zoia, who was 19 at the time, a lot of notoriety.

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Zoia later pleaded guilty and the judge sentenced her to two years of probation, a $2,000 fine and 150 hours of community service – even though the Crown had pushed for a jail sentence of four to six months.

Investigators believe there are more witness to Thursday’s incident who have yet to come forward and they are urging anyone with information to call police at 416-808-5200 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

cdoucette@postmedia.com

@sundoucette