Investigators have charged two suspects in connection with a bank robbery that led to a police chase down Highway 401 Monday afternoon.
According to police, three men entered a Scotiabank branch on Highway 2 in Courtice on March 12 at around 1 p.m. They demanded cash and fled the scene in their vehicle. Officers were able to follow them to the Highway 401 onramp at Stevenson Road in Oshawa, where they attempted to box in the vehicle.
Cons. George Tudos told CTV News Toronto Monday that the vehicle struck the police cruisers and was able to continue driving west on Highway 401. It was at this point an officer discharged their firearm.
The men eventually lost control of their vehicle east of Salem Road in Ajax and ended up in a ditch. They left the car and continued to flee on foot into a wooded area.
Around 5 p.m., police confirmed that two suspects were apprehended in a residential neighbourhood in Ajax. They allegedly recovered two firearms, one from a vehicle and another near the highway onramp where a shot was fired by an officer.
A suspect identified as 18-year-old Jaiden Smith of Ajax, and a 17-year-old male from Scarborough were both charged with robbery with a firearm, disguise with intent, and possessions of a firearm. They are both being held for a bail hearing. The 17-year-old can’t be named under the terms of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Police are still searching for the third suspect, who was vaguely described as a black male with a thin build, and approximately six-feet tall.
Anyone with information is being asked to contact Det. Derusha of the Major Crime-Robbery Unit at 1-888-579-1520 ext. 5355 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.
