3 GTA men charged following Markham carjacking incidents

From left, Jahziah Griffiths, 19, of Brampton, along with 19-year-old Anthony Morris and 18-year-old Yohann Tshiunza, both of Toronto, are each facing several charged in connection with two recent carjacking incidents in Markham.

Three men from the GTA have been arrested and charged after police intervened in a May 3 carjacking attempt in Markham.

The incident happened near Highway 7 and Woodbine Avenue.

York Regional Police (YRP) said that at around 7:20 p.m. that day they were conducting surveillance of a vehicle and three suspects believed to be involved in a previous carjacking when two suspects, one of whom was allegedly armed with a firearm, exited a parked vehicle and immediately began to assault two victims in an attempt to steal their car keys.

Officers intervened and after a short foot pursuit arrested three suspects and recovered a loaded firearm, police said.

The victims sustained minor injuries as a result of the assault, they said.

The previous incident that YRP was investigating happened on April 25, also near Highway 7 and Woodbine Avenue.

Police said that they were called to that area around 9 a.m. for reports of a carjacking.

They said that in this case a person was walking to their vehicle when they were approached by two male suspects armed with at least one gun. The suspects then allegedly demanded that the victim hand over their keys and stole their vehicle.

The three suspects arrived in a stolen grey Acura SUV, investigators said in a news release.

Jahziah Griffiths, 19, of Brampton, along with 19-year-old Anthony Morris and 18-year-old Yohann Tshiunza, both of Toronto, have been charged with robbery with a firearm, possession of a loaded prohibited firearm, disguise with intent, and possession of property obtained by crime.

Police said that Griffiths, at the time of this offence, was bound by a release order for a number of unrelated criminal offences. He has been additionally charged with fail to comply with a release order.

Investigators are appealing for any witnesses to come forward and are asking anyone with information is asked to contact YRP’s Hold-Up Unit at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 6630, or Crime Stoppers anonymously.