A week after a Toronto police investigation shut down a busy downtown area over what was later determined to be a bogus 911 call, police say a 54-year-old man has been charged.
At around 1 p.m. last Thursday, police said they received a report that a person with a gun was seen inside a building near King and Charlotte streets in the Entertainment District.
“The reports were that a man with a gun had taken someone from off of the street and forced them into a building,” Const. David Hopkinson said at the time.
Police said they were investigating the incident as a potential hostage situation, and heavily armed units surrounded a marijuana dispensary located in the building.
At around 4:45 p.m., several hours after a section of King Street West was cordoned off for the investigation, Const. Allyson Douglas-Cook told reporters at the scene that officers had conducted a thorough search of the building without locating a suspect.
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“At this point yes, it appears it was a false alarm,” she said.
On Monday, police issued a statement seeking assistance in identifying a man who allegedly placed the call from a pay phone in the area of Spadina Avenue and Cecil Street.
Gregory Frank Goodridge, 54, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with one count of public mischief on Wednesday.
He was scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.
Court documents obtained by Global News show that Goodridge has been charged several times in recent years for uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm.
In January 2011, he was given a peace bond ordering him to stay away from the alleged victim, and in April of 2013, Goodridge was charged again with threatening death and failing to comply with probation.
In August 2015, he was acquitted on those charges.
— With a file from Catherine McDonald, Global News
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