Kidnappers stole Cadillac, jewelry from victim’s home: Court documents

WOODSTOCK – A group of armed kidnappers stole a high-end SUV and expensive jewelry from a teen’s family home in an upscale suburb after snatching him off the street near a local high school, according to court documents.

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Woodstock police have charged six men – five of them from the Prairies, the other from London – and are still searching for two other suspects in the brazen daytime kidnapping more than two months ago.

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Investigators don’t believe it was a targeted incident and police issued safety tips for people out walking in the wake of the violent crime.

It started on Oct. 5 around 10:50 am when a white Chevrolet Equinox pulled up to a 15-year-old who was walking near Fyfe Avenue and Pavey Street, near College Avenue secondary school. A passenger got out of the vehicle and pulled the teen into the back seat, police said.

The suspects drove to an area near the Pittock Conservation Area and put up with people in a reddish-orange SUV before driving to the teen’s house, stealing a vehicle and then leaving him in a field about five kilometers west of Woodstock, police said, adding the teen was taken to the hospital for assessment.

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According to court documents, five men assaulted the teen with a gun and stole a Cadillac Escalade and jewelry valued at more than $5,000.

Middlesex OPP recovered the stolen vehicle and arrested the driver later in the day, police said.

One day later, OPP officers pulled over a vehicle for stunt driving on Highway 17, about 250 kilometers northwest of Thunder Bay, and seized a loaded handgun and arrested four men, police said.

Yakub Abdi, 21, of Edmonton; Idd Abdi Yusuf, 19, from Edmonton; Prince Shema, 23, from Labroqurie, Man.; Trevor Mulla, 25, of Blumenort, Man.; and Mahad Ibrahinadan, 22, of Edmonton are jointly charged with 11 offenses including armed robbery, using a gun while committing an offense, kidnapping while using a gun, two counts of assault with a weapon, uttering threats, breaking and entering and theft over $5,000 .

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They are alleged to have been found in possession of stolen property including jewelry, cash, passports, shoes and a cellphone, court documents say.

Mulla and Ibrahinadan were additionally charged with breaking a court-ordered release condition to not possess any weapons, while Shema was charged with breaking a probation order from Winnipeg that required him to keep the peace, the documents say.

Last week, police arrested a fifth suspect, Faek Aslhan, 21, of London, who is charged with kidnapping while using firearm and armed robbery.

All five of the accused remain in custody awaiting bail hearings – some of them have requested Somali interpreters for their proceedings – and have been ordered not to contact the teenage victim and his father, court records show.

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Investigators have also released photographs of two additional suspects and their vehicles, an orange Kia Seltos and a black sedan, but warned the public not to approach either man.

Neighbors on the street where the teen victim and his family lived recounted seeing a heavy police presence on Oct. 5 but didn’t know what it was about. Officers went door-to-door asking residents if they had surveillance cameras, said one neighbor, adding the family of four whose home was targeted have lived on the street for more than five years. Another neighbor said police asked her whether she’d heard any gunshots.

The father of the victim declined comment Friday.

Woodstock police didn’t respond to multiple interview requests.

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