A woman has been charged in connection with a series of carjackings in Toronto, police say.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Toronto police Insp. Rich Harris told reporters of a series of carjackings which took place in August and September.
Harris said on Aug. 19, a 35-year-old man had his vehicle stolen at gunpoint after being approached by a woman and two men in a parking lot in the Sheppard Avenue East and Markham Road area.
Harris said later that same day, and in the same area, a 27-year-old man had his vehicle allegedly stolen by a woman and two men “also at gunpoint.”
“Further investigation revealed that earlier on that date, members of the York Regional Police service were called to the area of Crosby Avenue and Yonge Street, as a result of a robbery,” Harris said.
According to Harris, a man had his vehicle allegedly stolen at gunpoint, by two male suspects.
“Lastly, on Sept. 10, 2022, a victim in the Pharmacy Avenue and Sesame Street area had their vehicle stolen by two female and two male suspects at knifepoint,” Harris said.
Police said a 15-year-old boy was arrested in connection with the investigation.
He was charged with “numerous” robbery-related offences, Harris said.
According to Harris, a 17-year-old boy was also arrested in connection with the carjacking on Sept. 10.
“He is going to be formally charged with a slew of robbery-related charges in the near future,” he said.
In a news release, police said on Sept. 29, a search warrant was executed at a home and one suspect was located and arrested.
According to police, during the search, clothing allegedly worn by the woman during some of the robberies was seized.
Officers said 18-year-old Valerie Torres-Lizcano from Toronto was arrested.
She has been charged with three counts of robbery with a firearm, robbery with an offensive weapon, four counts of disguise with intent, four counts of conspiracy to commit and indictable offence and two counts of possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000.
Police said Torres-Lizcano appeared in court on Sept. 30.
Officers are now searching for another suspect — 18-year-old Jasmine Oung, from York Region.
Police said she is wanted for robbery with an offensive weapon and conspiracy to commit and indicatable offence.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.
“We continue to experience a concerning increase in carjackings,” Harris said, noting that these incidents are also occurring across the Greater Toronto Area.
He said “every investigative avenue is being undertaken” in an effort to “identify and arrest the perpetrators of these crimes and put them before the courts.”
Harris said officers are patrolling hot spot areas and continue to make arrests.
According to Harris, so far, a total of 182 carjackings have been reported in Toronto this year, compared to 102 such incidents reported in 2021.
He said the Toronto police Hold Up squad has taken carriage of 136 of the investigations. A total of 56 vehicles have been recovered.
“In previous years we haven’t seen these numbers at all,” he said.
Harris said in some cases, high-end vehicles are being stolen. “We can definitely say that they are being used to resale for profit,” he said.
However, Harris said in other cases, “not so high-end” vehicles have been taken.
“We’re seeing them pop-up in different types of crimes,” he said. “Other robberies, shooting investigations — that type of stuff.”
“So to say generically what the motive is — each investigation tells it’s own story.”