Teen charged after Beaches manhunt linked to Eaton Centre shooting victim
Posted June 8, 2012 6:04 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The teen who sparked a manhunt in the Beaches area that put 15 schools on alert Thursday is connected to an Eaton Centre shooting victim currently in hospital, CityNews has learned.
Members of the Toronto Police guns and gangs unit and officers from 14 Division arrested Nicholas Dillion-Jack, 18, early Friday morning at a Howard Johnson hotel on Warden Avenue, near Highway 401. He is wanted for a recent stabbing in Kensington Market and other violent crimes.
A police source confirmed to CityNews that Dillion-Jack is connected to a 23-year-old man who remains hospitalized after being shot in the food court at Eaton Centre on June 2.
Meanwhile, when asked about reports of Dillion-Jack’s possible involvement in a gang called Sic Thugs — the accused in the Eaton Centre shooting and the dead victim were reportedly members — Toronto Police Const. Tony Vella said there’s nothing to suggest he was involved in the mall violence.
“There’s no evidence to suggest at this point that he’s involved [with the Eaton Centre shooting] in any way,” Vella said Friday morning.
“We’re looking at all possibilities in regards to any [gang] affiliation, but I can’t comment any further than that.”
Police set up a huge perimeter and combed the Beaches-area and beyond — starting at Kingston Road and Woodbine Avenue —on Thursday afternoon searching for Dillion-Jack, who authorities claimed possessed a rapid-fire machine gun. No weapon was seized during Friday’s arrest. The response prompted officials to put 15 schools in hold-and-secure mode for part of Thursday afternoon.
The teen was wanted in connection to violent crimes, including an attack at St. Stephen’s Community House on Augusta Avenue, in the College Street and Spadina Avenue area, on May 23 in which another teen was stabbed in the chest.
Police allege Dillion-Jack robbed a person of a cellphone at gunpoint at Grange Court, near Alexandra Park in the Spadina and Queen Street West area. That alleged hold-up happened shortly after the stabbing, authorities say.
Dillion-Jack is also charged in connection to a home invasion on Bleecker Street on Feb. 27. Police claim he threatened and struck a person in the apartment with a gun.
He’s facing 32 charges. Dillion-Jack, who was in court Friday morning, is expected to make another court appearance via video on June 25.
