Two men have been arrested in connection with a handful of carjackings in Peel region over the last month.
The suspects were taken into custody some time after 9 p.m. Tuesday after an extensive search by Peel police using tracking dogs.
Police responded to a call at 8:55 p.m. at a Burnhamthorpe Road West home where a man told police he was knocked to the ground by two men carrying guns.
He said the suspects stole his wallet, cellphone and car keys before getting into the victim's car and driving away.
The suspect driving the car lost control and struck a tree before fleeing the scene with his passenger.
Police found the stolen car in the area of Winston Churchill Boulevard and Unity Drive and immediately conducted a search of the area. Two men were located and arrested. Detectives also found two pellet guns during their search.
Authorities linked Tuesday night's investigation with three other carjackings that took place on Jan. 11, 2008.
Const. Jodi Dawson with Peel Regional Police told CTV.ca Wednesday the suspects have been charged with a slew of offenses in connection to all four carjackings.
Suspects linked to earlier investigation
On Jan. 11 at around 3 a.m., a Mississauga man told police he had just pulled into his driveway when two men with their faces concealed approached him, demanding his car keys.
The victim was shot in the eye with a pellet gun as two suspects grabbed his keys and wallet and got away with his Pontiac Montana van.
The victim did not lose his eyesight, though he did suffer from bruising and swelling.
An hour later, police responded to another call on South Millway and The Collegeway. A victim told police he was stopped at a traffic light when his car was bumped by a Pontiac Montana van carrying two people.
When he got out of the car, one suspect came out and demanded he turn over his keys. The victim complied and the suspect made off with his car, a Chrysler Intrepid while a second suspect in the van followed.
Twenty minutes later, a similar occurrence happened a short distance away at Glen Erin Drive and Burnhamthorpe.
A Chrysler Intrepid with two men inside bumped a Honda Accord. When the driver of the car came out to see the damage, one of the suspects asked him to use his cellphone to call police.
When the victim handed over his cellphone, a second suspect climbed into the Accord and took off with it while the first suspect jumped back in the Chrysler Intrepid following close behind.
So far, police have only been able to connect these four carjackings, Dawson said. They are still investigating whether the two suspects will be charged with two earlier carjackings that took place in Peel and Durham regions early Tuesday morning.
She said police don't believe the case is connected to a violent carjacking in Vaughan that took place over the weekend during which a young man was shot in the head.
The man was not seriously injured in that incident.
While some of the details seem to be similar, it could be a copycat culprit, Dawson said.