Puppy-napper shot himself in the leg as he fled in Brampton
Published February 21, 2023 at 2:54 pm
Charges against an alleged Brampton puppy-napper have been stayed after he was handcuffed to a bed and assaulted by one Peel Regional Police officer, and had his Charter rights violated by another.
The charges come from a 2019 incident when Andry Korkis allegedly stole an American Pitbull puppy at gunpoint in Brampton.
Court documents allege Korkis arranged to meet the owner of the puppy at a residence in Brampton on Dec. 20, 2019. But the deal went bad when Korkis allegedly pulled a gun on the owner, stealing the dog before trying to make an escape on foot.
The alleged puppy-napper didn’t get far as he accidentally shot himself in the leg, breaking his tibia while making his getaway. Korkis was taken into custody, transported to hospital, and charged with robbery with the use of a firearm.
But court documents show Korkis was allegedly assaulted by a Peel Regional Police officer and had his solicitor/client privilege broken by a second officer, leading Justice Thomas A. Bielby to stay the charges against Korkis.
While still in hospital the day after the alleged robbery, Korkis and a PRP officer identified only as “Officer MacLellan” got into an argument when Korkis asked to speak with his lawyer. That’s when MacLellan assaulted Korkis who had one arm handcuffed to a hospital bed.
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“Officer MacLellan then held down the applicant’s uncuffed wrist, called the applicant a pussy and backhanded the applicant across the face, three times. Thereafter the officers returned to their chairs located just outside of the applicant’s hospital room,” Bielby said in his ruling, adding that another PRP officer identified as “Officer Astone” stayed by the door.
“The applicant, while guilty of provoking the officer, was helpless, vulnerable and could not defend himself,” the decision reads. “The officer took advantage of the applicant’s situation. Provocation was not an excuse. There was no justification for what occurred.”
Korkis was also threatened and told “that it would happen again if he did not shut up,” Bielby said.
The court also found that an “Officer Reis” violated Korkis’ Charter rights when taking a statement from the accused, asking Korkis if he had spoken to a lawyer and if he had told the lawyer of the assault.
Reis told Korkis that he did not believe the assault by MacLellan took place “and suggested to the applicant that he might not want to follow his lawyer’s advice,” according to the documents.
The court found Reis “acted unlawfully, in asking the applicant about what he told his lawyer,” calling it a” breach of solicitor/client privilege.”
Because of both the assault and the Charter violation against Korkis, Bielby ruled that a stay of proceedings “is the appropriate remedy” when weighing an armed robbery trial against “the impugned conduct” of the officers.
“The use of firearms in the commission of crimes in this country is troubling and at times, rampant. However, given the context within which the applicant was assaulted, if not addressed, would cause the justice system to suffer,” Bielby said.
Peel Regional Police did not immediately respond to questions on whether any officers involved in the alleged incident were reprimanded.
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