Cops hunt for suspects in trio of similar muggings

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Police are looking for teenage culprits in a series of similar, possibly connected muggings that happened in the same part of Scarborough.

On Sept. 13 at around 4:30 p.m. near Lawrence Avenue East and Markham Road, a 16-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy were approached by three teenage boys, according to police. The three boys demanded possessions. The boy and girl managed to get away after a brief struggle.

Police describe the three suspects as male, black, 17–19 years old. The first is 5-foot-7 and 150 pounds with a thin build. The second is 5-foot-5, 150 pounds with a thin build. The third is 5-foot-7 and 161 pounds with a medium build, police said.

About 15 minutes earlier at around 4:15 p.m. in the same area, a 14-year-old boy was threatened with a weapon, choked and robbed of a cellphone by three boys in their teens, police said.

Police describe the three suspects as male, white, between 16 and 19 years old. The first is between 5-foot-7 and 5-foot-11 with a muscular build, fair complexion, brown eyes and short straight black hair. The second is between 5-foot-7 and 5-foot-10 with a thin build, light complexion, and slightly receding long black hair, police said. The third is 5-foot-9 with a thin to medium build and black hair.

Two days earlier on Sept. 11 at around 9 p.m., a 17-year-old boy was robbed of an iPod and injured by two disguised boys in their teens at Danforth Road and Savarin Street, Const. Wendy Drummond said.

Police describe the two suspects as male, black, 16–18 years old. The first is 5-foot-10, between 161 and 180 pounds. The second is 6-foot-3, between 180 and 189 pounds, police said.

Whether the three muggings are connected or were carried out by the same people is being investigated, Drummond said.

“Any time you get a situation or incident where the method of the offence is similar, you’re going to be looking at potentially the same suspects,” she said.

Although Drummond said she couldn’t speculate on these specific cases, she did say it is possible someone might wrongly describe a suspect.

“Some people are better at remembering descriptions and some things may not stand out to some people,” she said.

To prevent situations like these, Drummond recommended that people stick to well-used paths, travel in pairs and keep electronics out of sight. She also suggested writing down the serial numbers of any electronics to help with tracking them if they do get stolen.

If threatened, Drummond said people should comply with the demands.

“We don’t ever recommend people fighting back,” she said. “It’s property, which can be replaced. We don’t want people to put themselves into a situation which they’re unable to handle.”

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By: Alina Smirnova
Posted: Sep 22 2010 8:52 pm
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