Brampton police investigation leads to 5 people facing firearms, kidnapping charges

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Published July 24, 2021 at 1:42 am

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Four men and one woman are facing multiple firearms and kidnapping charges after a man they were allegedly holding at a house in Brampton escaped, police say.

Peel Regional Police say they were contacted at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday (July 22) by a man who said he just escaped from a residence where he was confined for multiple days. The PRP sent officers to the area and located the residence where the victim had been held, but the suspects allegedly refused to come out and barricaded themselves inside of the home. 

Over the course of several hours, crisis negotiators, incident commanders and officers from PRP’s mobile command post, aerial support unit, tactical and canine units pitched in with the aim of the safe apprehension of the suspects and to ensure the safety of the neighbourhood.

The five occoupants of the home were arrested just before 1 a.m. on Friday (July 23).

“This was a violent crime that has undoubtedly caused traumatic injury to the victim,” Deputy Chief of Community Policing Operations Marc Andrews said in a statement. “The professionalism, skill and patience displayed by the men and women of Peel Police in bringing this incident to a safe conclusion was outstanding.”

Peel police’s 22 Division Criminal Investigation Bureau has laid charges against five individuals. Two firearms were retrieved from the residence after officers obtained a search warrant.

Shannon Rasanayagam, 22, of Toronto, is facing eight counts. He has been charged with kidnapping with the intent to cause a person to be confined or imprisoned; forcible confinement; possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose; possession of a prohibited device or ammunition knowing its possession is unauthorized; unauthorized possession of a firearm; being an occupant of a motor vehicle knowing there was a firearm; and two counts of knowledge of unauthorized possession of a firearm. 

Stevens Estimable, 23, of Montreal, is also facing eight counts. He has been charged with kidnapping with the intent to cause a person to be confined or imprisoned; forcible confinement; possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose; possession of a prohibited device or ammunition knowing its possession is unauthorized; unauthorized possession of a firearm; being an occupant of a motor vehicle knowing there was a firearm; and two counts of knowledge of unauthorized possession of a firearm. 

Evans Casmir, 20, of Laval, Que., has been charged with forcible confinement, kidnapping with the intent to cause a person to be confined or imprisoned, possession of a prohibited device or ammunition knowing its possession is unauthorized, and two counts of knowledge of unauthorized possession of a firearm.

Anna Leblanc, 21, of Montreal, has been charged with forcible confinement, kidnapping with the intent to cause a person to be confined or imprisoned, possession of a prohibited device or ammunition knowing its possession is unauthorized, and two counts of knowledge of unauthorized possession of a firearm.

Preston Gunner, 50, of Montreal, has been charged with forcible confinement, possession of a prohibited device or ammunition knowing its possession is unauthorized, and two counts of knowledge of unauthorized possession of a firearm. 

None of the charges have been proven in court.

All five suspects appeared in a Brampton court on Friday.

(Cover photo courtesy of Peel Regional Police.)

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