Toronto Maple Leafs Alternate Captain Mitch Marner can’t be happy that carjackers who stole his SUV were let off Scott free.
Toronto hockey fans are skeptical and weighing in that all charges were dropped against two men who were arrested for the armed carjacking of Mitch Marner’s SUV at Cineplex Cinemas Queensway.
The star hockey player and his team the Toronto Maple Leafs are out of the playoffs now but almost two years ago he had his expensive Land Rover carjacked as he and his now wife were leaving the theatre.
Police at the time said a black Honda Civic pulled up to block Marner from leaving a parking lot at the Islington Avenue and The Queensway theatre. Three suspects armed with two handguns and a knife demanded the keys of his vehicle and drove off.
Maple Leafs star Mitch Marner and his now wife were leaving a show at the Cineplex Cinemas Queensway when thieves pulled out guns and stole his high-end Land Rover. All charges against the suspects were dropped.
Two of the suspects were arrested in March 2023 and charged with robbery with a firearm and disguise with intent. One faced a further charge for failing to comply with a release order.
The men were granted bail that same month.
Court documents show the charges were withdrawn by the Crown in October 2023, according to the Toronto Star. The court was told “there’s not a reasonable prospect of conviction.”
The robbery came as a wave of carjackings were increasingly making headlines across the GTA with Marner’s experience shining a spotlight on the City’s rising auto theft crisis.
It was almost two years ago when Marner had guns and a knife aimed at him and his now wife at the Queensway and Islington Ave. theatre.
There were more than 12,000 car thefts in Toronto last year; with up to 20 thefts daily in South Etobicoke alone. Police said a vehicle is stolen every 40 minutes in this City.
There have been 137 carjackings in Toronto so far this year, which is an increase of more than 60 per cent from the same date last year.
Many hockey fans were skeptical the charges against the men were dropped and took to social media to express their views.
“Someone screwed up and we cannot simply shrug our shoulders,” an outraged Kamil wrote. “The outcome of this is that two potentially very dangerous criminals are still out there and so far they’ve been able to get away with it.”
Leafs fans have taken to social media to voice their views on the theft of Marner’s SUV with the thieves walking free.
Kamil is asking what really happened and why was the men arrested without sufficient evidence.
“This is a curious outcome,” Kim suggested. “Almost always the truth comes out in time.”
“Kudos on a job done by Toronto Police and the Ontario Crown,” said Wally.
Carl said it is about time those in authority come clean.
“It’s time this secrecy was done away with,” Carl wrote. “No doubt mistakes were made now as so often in the past.”
The thefts have led to hundreds of armed home break-ins and car jackings as thieves rob owners of their high-end vehicles, which are then shipped abroad for resale or for use here to commit crimes.