Man charged in hate-motivated vandalism of Ukrainian bakery in Etobicoke

Toronto Police arrested and charged a man with hate-motivated mischief offences after he allegedly vandalized a well-known Polish-Ukrainian bakery in Etobicoke on multiple occasions.

Investigators say the vandalism occurred between February 7 and 8 when the man attended Future Bakery near North Queen Street and The East Mall.

The man spray-painted anti-Ukrainian slogans on a mural and caused approximately $25,000 worth of damage.

He revisited the bakery between February 26 and February 28, damaging a banner by tearing it and splashing black paint.

On March 4, the same man attended the bakery with what appeared to be a jar in his right hand. He then approached the establishment’s parking lot and threw the object against the wall. He returned two days later with a hockey stick that had a blade attached to it and tore through a banner.

In the early morning on March 9, the man returned for a final time carrying a large pole with a knife attached. It’s unclear if he vandalized the bakery before returning to his vehicle, police said.

Police investigated the multiple acts as a hate crime and arrested 39-year-old Andrey Malyshev of Toronto that same day.

Malyshev faces multiple charges, including two counts of possessing a weapon for committing an offence and mischief to property over $5,000.

He appeared in court on Wednesday.

The owner of Future Bakery says the shop had put up wanted pictures of the suspect. Photo courtesy: Mark Douglas/CityNews.

The owner of the bakery, Borys Wrzesnewskyj, tells CityNews he wasn’t aware of the man’s arrest until late Wednesday.

“I didn’t know that. I just found out, hallelujah. One less thing to worry about. It had been a distraction. The person was a menace,” Wrzesnewskyj said, corroborating what police said about the hockey stick and knife the man had used.

“It’s a person that crossed a number of lines, including using a weapon to damage someone’s property in a very hateful way… he did it five times.” 

Wrzesnewskyj said when the man used the black paint, he specifically targeted a part of the banner that read “Ukraine.”

“We know the context of all this. He was hateful and willing to use weapons. No normal person walks around with a big knife under their jacket and then takes it further, using a long hockey stick with a knife attached to it,” he said.

“Thank goodness he’s now been arrested.”

Last month, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress condemned the vandalism, saying Future Bakery “was defaced under cover of night by cowards who support Russian president [Vladimir] Putin’s kleptocratic, criminal regime.”

Premier Doug Ford issued a statement that strongly denounced the vandalism, calling it “absolutely disgraceful.”