A Toronto man who posed as a taxi driver, tried to steal an innocent man’s bank card, and then drove off, dragging the victim who confronted him about the scam, has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison and is facing deportation after serving his sentence.
In a downtown courtroom Monday, Shubham Joshi pleaded guilty to six charges including dangerous driving causing bodily harm, failing to remain at the scene of an accident, and possession of stolen property in connection with an incident on May 15, 2022.
Court heard Joshi was driving a stolen Honda Odyssey on Church Street the night that Mohamed Al-Rahawi, believing Joshi was a taxi driver, gave him his debit card.
When Al-Rahawi, who was outside the minivan, realized the debit card returned to him was not his, he reached into the passenger window and confronted Joshi. After a short verbal argument, Joshi put his foot on the gas and accelerated, dragging Al-Rahawi roughly 290 metres before crashing the minivan into a patio.
Al-Rahawi was dislodged from the vehicle and suffered life-altering injuries. Joshi then drove off but was arrested a short time later, after a witness who noticed Joshi driving on a rim called police.
In a victim impact statement read out in court, Al-Rahawi, who is now 37 years old, said the crime against him has had a profound impact on his life. “I nearly passed away. If I could get my life back, I would do anything,” Crown prosecutor Darren Hogan said on behalf of Al-Rahawi. The former Uber eats bike courier broke both legs, spent two weeks in a coma, and had to retrain his body how to stand and walk again.
“Before this crime and tragedy happened, I had a job. I can barely pay my rent. I am currently trying to survive a challenging existence day by day,” he wrote.
In addition to the 2022 incident, Joshi also pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to comply with conditions of his release order, and one count of over 80 mg in 100 ml of blood in relation to an incident on Dec. 16, 2021 in Brampton.
Joshi, who was taken into custody last November after breaching a bail condition, was given 261 days’ credit for time served. That leaves a net sentence of 957 days or two years, seven months and 12 days. He was also given a seven-year, seven-month and 12 day driving prohibition to start immediately. Court heard he will likely face deportation immediately upon release from custody.
Defence lawyer Amar Mahil said his client came to Canada in June 2017 as a visitor before getting a work permit and working for Nestle and Garda.
“He became addicted to crystal meth and heroin. Through smoking heroin, other individuals persuaded him into a taxi scam. He was the driver of a fake taxi. He was promised half the profits,” Mahil expained, saying it certainly was not a victimless crime.
Joshi also addressed court, saying he has grown from his mistakes and apologized to Al-Mahawi for the harm he’s caused.
Before imposing his sentence, Ontario Court Justice Daniel Moore told Joshi, “We are lucky that he’s still with us here today. Your driving on that day could have easily killed him. He still has a long road ahead. He’s going to be suffering for the rest of his life.”
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