A 17-year-old has been charged in connection with a “gang war kidnapping” that police say saw two teenagers held at gunpoint for ransom, forced to play Russian roulette, tortured and sexually assaulted. A second 23-year-old suspect wanted in connection with the incident is still sought on a Canada-wide arrest warrant.
Toronto police said a fight broke out between members of two rival gangs — the Young Buck Killas and the Queens Drive Crips — at a downtown Toronto condo in the early hours of April 19.
READ MORE: Canada-wide warrant issued for ‘armed and dangerous’ suspects in kidnapping of 2 teens
Investigators said there were eight to 10 handguns present at the building and that gunshots were heard and shell casings located, but no calls were made to police. Surveillance video shows a shooting in an elevator on the 25th floor of the building in the Front Street West and Blue Jays Way area.
Police said two 17-year-old boys associated with the Queens Drive Crips gang were then kidnapped and “held against their will” at several locations throughout the city.
Investigators said the teenagers were repeatedly beaten, forced to play Russian roulette and sexually assaulted over the course of two days before a ransom demand was made.
No report of a kidnapping was made until April 19, when the two teenagers were located at a unit in a townhouse complex in the Swansea Mews neighbourhood, near Windemere Avenue and The Queensway, allegedly associated with the Young Buck Killas.
On Wednesday, police arrested a 17-year-old man at a North York apartment and charged him with kidnapping for ransom, possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, failure to comply with probation, three counts of failure to comply with a Youth Criminal Justice Act recognizance and three firearms offences.
He cannot be identified under the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act and was scheduled to appear in a Toronto court on Thursday.
Four others – aged 19, 18, 16 and 51 – are also charged in the case. They face numerous offences, including kidnapping and firearms counts.
Police have said the accused are linked to gangs and that the alleged incident was a “gang war kidnapping” meant to “send a message.”
Investigators said Lincoln Anthony Richards, 23, is the last outstanding suspect in the investigation.
He’s described as standing 6′, weighing approximately 230 lbs and is known to frequent the Finch Avenue and Martin Grove Road area, Swansea Mews, Leamington and Kingsville, Ont.
Richards is considered armed and dangerous and police are asking members of the public not to approach him but instead to call 911.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-7350, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at http://www.222tips.com, or by texting TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637).