Brampton man, 20, charged in London, Ont. pot shop shooting was on bail: Court records
Joshua Kalombo was facing charges related to auto theft, court documents show.
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One of two Toronto-area men accused of shooting up an unsanctioned London pot shop last year was on bail at the time, facing charges related to auto theft, court documents show.
The OPP arrested Joshua Kalombo, 20, of Brampton and Amare Walters-Lyte, 18, of Toronto on July 10 in the Greater Toronto Area, London police said.
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The pair is jointly charged with five offences, including discharging a firearm in a reckless manner, occupying a vehicle with a firearm and possession of property obtained by crime, in relation to shots fired at a Dundas Street building on Nov. 24, 2024.
The overnight gunfire left the back door to the unlicensed cannabis dispensary at 266 Dundas St., just west of Wellington Street, riddled with more than a dozen bullet holes. Nobody was injured.
London police took the rare step of releasing mugshots of both accused – a move normally reserved for cases when a suspect remains at large – citing the ongoing investigation. Both men remain in custody awaiting bail hearings.
Court records show Kalombo was on bail at the time of the London shooting, facing charges of flight from police, dangerous driving causing bodily harm, possession of property obtained by crime, failure to comply with a sentence and failure to comply with a release order.
The charges stem from alleged incidents in Brampton on Jan. 29, 2024, related to a stolen vehicle. Kalombo was under a release order not to be in the driver’s seat of a vehicle, the documents say.
Kalombo was granted bail two days later after his surety pledged $3,000, according to the documents, which don’t provide any details about his release conditions.
He was arrested again Jan. 1 and charged with possession of property obtained by crime before being released on bail two days later, the documents say.
The Dundas Street pot shop targeted in the November 2024 shooting – one of 14 incidents of gunfire in the city last year – reopened three weeks later. The business doesn’t have a licence from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, the province’s pot regulator, and is one of several Indigenous-run dispensaries that have opened in London in recent years, claiming to be immune from Canada’s cannabis laws.
Property records show Erin Barletta is the owner of the two-storey building that houses the pot shop. She is the wife of Vincent Barletta, the former owner of the Beef Baron strip club and brother of Robert Barletta, an alleged high-ranking member of the Hells Angels.
Police Chief Thai Truong, who singled out gun violence as one of his top priorities when he became the city’s top cop two years ago, said the arrests of the two accused highlights the tenacity of investigators.
“Their persistence in seeing that individuals who carry out violent acts are held accountable is crucial in ensuring community safety and a sense of well-being among the people who live, work, and visit our city,” Truong said in a statement.
“We are grateful for the collaborative support provided by our policing partners, including the OPP-led joint forces operations, whose assistance was instrumental in achieving this outcome. Reducing gun violence remains one of our top priorities.”
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