Three teens charged in one of 2 smash-and-grab heists in matter of minutes: Toronto cops
Fairview Mall hit for second time this month
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Police were called to two smash-and-grab retail store robberies within minutes of each other on Monday night in Toronto.
Toronto Police said officers responded at 8:43 p.m. to a robbery at a jewelry store at Fairview Mall, in the Sheppard Ave.-Hwy. 404 area.
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Three teens charged in one of 2 smash-and-grab heists in matter of minutes: Toronto cops Back to video
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Police said five suspects wearing masks smashed the front glass door of a jewelry store with hammers and “began smashing glass display cases and removing jewelry” before fleeing.
Responding officers located three suspects. Police say there is no information on the other two yet.
A 14-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy, both from Toronto, as well as a 17-year-old boy from Brantford are charged with robbery with offensive weapon and disguise with intent.
The 15- and 17-year-olds are also charged with fail to comply with an undertaking.
All three were to appear at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Ontario Court of Justice on Armoury St.
Toronto cops responded to another robbery at 8:47 p.m. this one also in North York — at a retail store in the Eglinton Ave. W-Venn Cres. area.
Cops said in that incident three suspects were seen with hammers and the suspects fled in a vehicle. All were wearing black masks and hoodies.
There were likewise no reported injuries in the second incident.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the thieves left the store with merchandise in the second incident.
These smash-and-grab robberies have become commonplace throughout the Greater Toronto Area and beyond over the past month.
Two weeks ago, Toronto Police said six males used hammers to break the glass display cabinets at a jewelry store inside Fairview Mall — the same mall hit again on Monday night — just after 1 p.m.
The suspects fled to a waiting vehicle, which was involved in a collision as it exited the mall’s property, cops said. They then got into another getaway vehicle.
According to police, all suspects were wearing masks and gloves to disguise their identity and the investigation is ongoing.
In York Region, police earlier this month initiated a traumatic incident response team following daytime jewelry store robberies in Richmond Hill and Markham.
On Dec. 2, thieves smashed display cases at a Peoples Jewellers inside Hillcrest Mall in the middle of the afternoon.
Two days later, Lukfook Jewellery at Markville Shopping Centre in Markham was targeted as a large group of thieves smashed the store’s glass walls after the doors were locked.
Similarly, a smash-and-grab-style robbery happened outside of the GTA in Waterloo, where earlier this month assailants busted into Raffi Jewellers in Conestoga Mall. Police said they believe that the robbery was connected to another jewelry store heist in Cambridge two days earlier.
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