Man convicted of shooting up Brampton strip mall is now on the run
A man convicted of spraying bullets into a Brampton strip mall as a ploy to distract police from a smash-and-grab at a nearby jewellery store has slipped away and is now on the run, CTV News has learned.
Peter Mitsakis, 32, was convicted on eight counts including reckless discharge of a firearm for his role in the scheme to send police looking for an active shooter instead of responding to the robbery, where a tow truck smashed into the store.
Before he could be sentenced, Mitsakis took off his ankle monitoring bracelet and disappeared, according to Ontario Superior Court Justice Andras Schreck. Schreck didn’t let that stop him from sentencing Mitsakis to more than six years in prison for his role in the scheme.
But Mitsakis won’t serve a day in prison if police can’t catch him, observers said.
“He may be on a beach, or in some non-extradition country or he might be sitting right in the GTA and no one can find him,” said criminal lawyer Ari Goldkind in an interview.
“If he is found and if he does not have a good reason — I say that wink-wink, nudge nudge — for not showing up for the sentencing and end of his trial, the fail to appear legislation could suggest that he will face a very significant sentence,” Goldkind said.
It’s not the first time Mitsakis has been on the run. Video released by the court to CTV News shows an extraordinary raid on the alleged clubhouse of the Chester Le gang back in 2019.
Two men at the front of the clubhouse drop to the ground as police emerge, pointing their weapons. Two men can be seen jumping out of a minivan and scampering towards the back of the property.
One of them was Mitsakis, Schreck found. The evidence filed in the case shows his pants got stuck on a fence and he took them off to get away — surveillance videos show him jogging in his underwear through back alleys.
The raid was one part of Project Kraken, a GTA-wide investigation into tow truck related organized crime, police said back in 2019, as they announced 73 people would face almost 600 charges.
Among the guns shown at the press conference then was a gun that was found near the tan pants, a loaded handgun with an overcapacity magazine.
“It is alleged that some of the firearms before you were used in the robberies committed,” said Toronto Police Chief James Ramer at the time.
Video filed in the case shows the tow truck slamming through the glass front of a Brampton jewellery store, followed by men wearing face masks streaming inside and smashing the cases with hammers.
Blocks away, another video shows a man in tan pants and a green hoodie shoot three times into a Brampton strip mall during the day to scramble police to that location instead.
“The reason Mr. Mitsakis did this was to distract the police so that others could rob a nearby jewellery store,” Schrek wrote. “This robbery was carried out as planned and approximately $276,000 worth of jewellery was stolen.”
Officers matched the pants and the gun to the man in the video, and DNA on the pants matched Mitsakis, the judgment says.
Michael Rombis, who represented Mitsakis at trial, said he put up a vigorous defense but ultimately the facts presented by the crown were difficult to argue against.
He said that following the conviction there was a “breakdown in the solicitor-client relationship” and he brought an application to be removed as Mitsakis’s lawyer.
“Since the date of the hearing I’ve had no contact or communication with Mr. Mitsakis whatsoever,” Rombis told CTV News.
According to the court records, Mitsakis is 32 years old with a sporadic employment history and criminal record for failing to provide a breath sample, driving while disqualified, and uttering threats and mischief.
Mitsakis was convicted on May 13, and Crown lawyers applied unsuccessfully at that point to have his bail revoked. He was out on a condition that he reside at a specific address and wear an ankle bracelet monitoring device.
On July 22, Recovery Science Corporation, which monitored the bracelet, contacted the police to warn that it had been removed. Two police officers found the bracelet, but he was nowhere to be found. An arrest warrant was issued but Mitsakis remains on the run.
Toronto Police didn’t respond to questions about what efforts are being made to find Mitsakis, and Recovery Science Corporation didn’t return calls.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Ex-tabloid publisher testifies he scooped up possibly damaging tales to shield his old friend Trump
As Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, his old friend at the National Enquirer was scooping up potentially damaging stories about the candidate and paying out tens of thousands of dollars to keep them from the public eye.
Here's why provinces aren't following Saskatchewan's lead on the carbon tax home heating fight
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.