Tow truck shootings in Toronto lead to 177 charges for Oshawa man and teen

Four people from Durham Region face a battery of charges in connection to numerous crimes, including murder, related to the GTA tow truck industry.

In a statement on Aug. 21, Toronto Police described Project Beacon, the Tow Truck Task Force. This task force debuted in June involving “specialty squads, divisional uniform members and strategically deployed resources to address tow truck-related crimes.”

During their announcement, Chief Myron Demkiw shared that four people had been arrested on a collective 177 charges after a murder and 18 other incidents over the summer. However, this is just part of the 43 tow truck-related shootings in the area this year.

“We have taken a dynamic, Service-wide approach to the troubling rise in gun crime and we believe 14 per cent of all firearm discharges and shooting events in our city are connected to an ongoing territory dispute involving a small segment of the tow truck industry,” Demkiw said.

Several incidents connected to the tow truck turf war occurred between May and July this year, including the murder of a man on July 6. Police found the victim Sulakshan Selvasingam, 28 of Pickering, suffering multiple gunshot wounds. Though he was rushed to hospital, he was later pronounced dead.

Toronto Police and the OPP arrested two teenagers, 15 and 16, for the shooting just over a week later. Police say the pair had a Glock handgun on them at the time. The pair are from Oshawa and Stouffville respectively.

The 15-year-old is charged with 85 offences;

• first-degree murder
• 11 counts of conspiracy to commit an indictable offence
• 12 counts of possession of a firearm without a licence
• 12 counts of occupying a car with a firearm
• 12 counts of possession of a loaded regulated firearm
• 10 counts of reckless firearm discharge
• discharge of a firearm reckless as to the life or safety of another person
• 12 counts of possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000
• 12 counts of possessing a firearm while prohibited
• possession of a prohibited device

The 16-year-old is charged with the same but is also charged with dangerous driving and failure to stop for police. Investigators believe the pair were involved in 11 shootings over the summer, with eight of them on the Canada Day weekend alone. They also think the pair used three different stolen cars to commit the crimes.

An earlier tow truck incident also resulted in the arrest of an Oshawa man and another teenager. Police say two truck trucks were fired upon on May 15. They believe a man paid the shooter to attack the trucks. No one was inside them at the time.

A 17-year-old from Toronto faces six charges including;

• discharging a firearm with intent
• Possession of a loaded regulated firearm
•  occupying a car with a firearm
• possession of a firearm without a licence
• possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000
• possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000

Jamal Sayed Waizi, 33, of Oshawa, is also charged with conspiracy to commit a crime. The identities of the three teenagers are protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.