3 arrested after spate of Toronto home invasions

Three people, including two teenage girls, have been arrested in a series of home invasions, robberies and abductions that occurred within a 24-hour period last month, Toronto police say.

“They were on a crime spree and it didn’t seem to matter what they took. If they liked it, they took it,” Staff Insp. Mike Earl said Monday. “They forcibly confined these people. Some were tied with zip ties. They were hit with guns. It was an act of terror in 24 hours.”

The alleged crime spree began at 8:20 p.m. on Oct. 16, when three men armed with handguns broke into a multi-dwelling address on Weston Road near Black Creek Drive and robbed victims of jewelry, cash and electronic devices, said Earl of Toronto’s holdup squad.

The suspects fired twice at a 48-year-old man who was trying to prevent them from entering his basement unit. The shots struck the man in the arm and torso. The men then took off after robbing him of his belongings.

The victim was taken to Sunnybrook hospital where he was treated for a broken arm and a lacerated liver. His left kidney had to be removed.

At 7:45 p.m. the next evening, three armed men accompanied by two females robbed a 33-year-old man walking in the same area. Within 15 minutes, the suspects then targeted a nearby house on Clearview Heights near Trethewey Drive and forced their way into the home where two teen victims were robbed of jewelry and cash.

Within 15 minutes, the same suspects approached a dwelling on Clearview, forcibly confining two female victims and  robbing them of jewelry and cash.

The suspects fled and soon accosted a 17-year-old boy, who was standing outside another residence nearby. They allegedly forced him to knock on the door of someone he knew on Clearview. Two women there were robbed of cash and jewelry including a 34-year-old woman who was pistol-whipped.

One of the women was abducted and taken to another apartment where the suspects made her knock on the door of a 16-year-old boy she knew. That teen was allegedly kidnapped at gunpoint.

By this time, police had been notified of the kidnapping and tried to stop the suspects’ vehicle which crashed through a fence and into a home. All the suspects and the victim fled. But the victim was able to break free a short time later.

A handgun was found at the scene as well as stolen property from the crime spree.

Wendell McLean, 28, was arrested and charged with firearms, robbery and abduction offences on Oct. 25. The 28-year-old is reportedly a member of the “Five Point Generalz,” a notorious violent street gang in west-end Toronto, Earl said.

A 15-year-old girl and a 16-year-old girl were charged on Oct. 26. Their names are protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Two other male suspects are still at large, and police are asking for the public’s assistance in locating them.

One was described as black, in his 20s six to six-feet-two with tattoos on both his hands. He was wearing glasses.

“He’s a person of interest in these home invasions. We believe he’s an associate of Mr. McLean’s and we’re looking for a name,” Earl said.

The other man is black with a medium build and was wearing dark clothing.

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