PUBLICATION:
National Post
DATE:
2005.02.15
EDITION:
SECTION:
PAGE:
A8 / Front
BYLINE:
Siri Agrell
SOURCE:
National Post
ILLUSTRATION: Black & White Photo: Kaz Ehara, For
National Post /Detective Sergeant Gary Keys, of the gun and gang task force,
shows weapons seized last weekend.; Black & White Photo: Julian Fantino.
NOTE: sagrell@nationalpost.com
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Use a gun, get 10 years, Fantino says: 'enough is enough'
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The
federal government should slap anyone convicted of gun-related violence with a
minimum 10-year jail sentence, Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino said
yesterday, including legislators in the blame for a weekend of violence that
ended with two people dead and several others wounded.
"The
laws need to be changed," Chief Fantino yesterday told a news conference,
where he asked the federal government to take some responsibility for recidivist
criminals on
Toronto
police made
several arrests over the weekend in separate incidents of gun violence, two of
which involved men on conditional release for previous offences.
"Gun
violence in the community doesn't appear to resonate with those in the strongest
positions to take action against this scourge of violence," Chief Fantino
said. "Criminals have no fear of the justice system; they hold it in
undisguised contempt. It neither deters nor rehabilitates them."
Police
are seeking John Kovacs after his former girlfriend, Szilvia Veres, 35, was shot
in the head and killed on Friday in a Don Mills parking garage. Mr. Kovacs had
been charged last year with stalking and threatening her and her husband, who
was also wounded in the attack.
Police
say Mr. Kovacs was released on an order to stay away from her at the time of the
shooting and is now at large somewhere in the country.
Chief
Fantino said another man arrested over the weekend was also on conditional
release after being convicted in 2003 for the unauthorized possession of a
45-calibre semi-automatic handgun that had its serial number removed. He
reportedly served six-months "dead time" in custody before his trial
and received a two-year conditional sentence.
The
Chief characterized those responsible for weekend violence as "hardcore,
gun-crazed gangsters" and suggested that many of the incidents were related
to gang and drug activity.
Two
men and a woman were arrested after allegedly opening fire on a man as he sat in
the parking lot of a No Frills grocery store on
On
Saturday evening, 22-year-old Orlando Grundy was killed after a "number of
persons" entered his 13th floor apartment on
The
shooters fled the apartment and have not been apprehended.
There
were also six armed robberies and numerous 911 calls reporting shots fired on
the weekend in
Police
will re-deploy uniformed officers to "problem areas" around the city,
he said, much as they did in the northeast
"We're
doing our bit but clearly when you have this revolving- door situation, hardened
criminals are not getting the message," Chief Fantino said. "Other
people have to step up to the plate."
He
praised former
Chief
Fantino said this gave
Denise
Rudnecki, director of communications for Irwin Cotler,
"The
current penalties for serious gun crimes range from a minimum of four years to a
maximum of 14 years or life in prison," she said. "So the government's
position is that the law provides ample room for the courts to impose as harsh a
sentence as is warranted."
Ms. Rudnecki said the Department of Justice last May
announced a series of amendments to the Criminal Code that would toughen gun
crime penalties.
Six
provisions were suggested, including strengthening penalties for possession of
loaded handguns in public places, increasing the minimum penalty for weapons
trafficking and ensuring that judges give special consideration to domestic
violence when deciding whether to prohibit possession of firearms.