Man charged after allegedly breaking into 115 vehicles inside underground parking garages
Jose Manuel Freitas, 54, is seen in this undated photo. (Toronto Police Service)
TORONTO -
A 54-year-old man is facing more than 120 charges after allegedly breaking into hundreds of vehicles in several underground parking garages in the city over the span of eight months.
The first incident was reported in November 2020, when a man entered a building in the area of Spadina Road and Bernard Avenue and made his way to the lowest level of the parking garage.
Police allege the suspect broke into 33 vehicles.
Similar incidents were reported in January, March, April and June of this year. Police said the suspect targeted vehicles parked at underground garages in the areas of Bathurst and Wellington, King Street West and Stafford Street, King Street West and Shaw Street, and Front Street West and Bathurst Street.
The most recent break-in happened last week in the same area where the first incident occurred.
The suspect allegedly made his way into a parking garage in the Spadina Road and Bernard Avenue area and burglarized 42 vehicles.
Police said a total of 115 vehicles were broken into and caused $88,848 in damage.
On Saturday, after months of investigation, police were finally able to identify the suspect. A search warrant was then executed at a residence, where police said they seized a large amount of evidence in relation to the break-ins.
Toronto resident Jose Manuel Freitas was charged with 115 counts of mischief to auto and six counts of theft from auto.
He appeared in court Sunday morning.
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