‘Coalition of adult men’ charged in connection to series of violent crimes in Ontario, Quebec

York Regional Police allege a “coalition of adult men” — as opposed to a traditional street gang — is responsible for a series of violent crimes including murder and home invasions across Ontario and in Quebec.

At a press conference on Monday, YRP’s Supt. Simon James said police forces across southern Ontario as well as Sûreté du Québec launched an investigation after identifying “patterns and connections” linking several violent incidents, naming their effort Project Wrangler.

James called the coalition a “mobile, transient group” motivated by financial gain. “They were committing profit-motivated violence would be the best term to to describe this group,” he said. “They were often extremely brazen.”

The men are suspected in a list of crimes that includes bank robbery, cellphone store robbery, home invasion shootings, an attempted shooting of a man on his driveway, as well as an incident where suspects opened fire at a crowded hospital emergency room in London, Ont.

“This was not a traditional street gang, but rather a coalition of adult men from different groups and locations who would align themselves for profit-motivated violence,” said James.

“Over many months, we allege that individuals within this network coordinated and carried out numerous organized offenses, including homicide, attempted homicide, home invasions, armed robberies, firearms-related offenses, and a number of serious incidents.”

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Police said 13 people have been arrested and charged after search warrants were executed from April to December.

Two suspects remain at large and are subject to Canada-wide arrest warrants.

One is a 20-year-old man with ties to Hamilton and Kitchener-Waterloo areas wanted by Quebec police in connection with a a first-degree murder charge. The second is  24-year-old man wanted on more than 20 charges including participating in a criminal organization and conspiracy to commit murder.

James told reporters that there was a “clearly defined hierarchy” within the criminal group. “Many of the upper echelon and, what we would we allege are the top individuals, have been arrested at this time,” he said.

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