With thanks to the Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS), here is an overview of occurrences related to Burlington that we received in April. All suspects named are from Burlington, unless otherwise noted. 

Human Trafficking

On April 6, HRPS announced that they made an arrest in a human trafficking investigation. The survivor was trafficked over this past year within Halton Region. Loic Simeu of Oakville was charged with trafficking in persons, sexual assault, assault, forcible confinement, procuring, withholding or destroying identity documents, theft under $5000, failure to comply with release order (two counts), as well as two counts of receiving material benefit. Simeu was held in custody pending a bail hearing.

Drinking and Driving

In April, police reported charges in 17(!!) separate occurrences. Eleven of these were in response to citizen complaints. Thank you so much for seeing something and then saying something!  Six of the individuals charged as a result of these driving complaints live in Burlington.

On April 26, in the area of Guelph Line and the QEW, Nicole George was charged with operation of a motor vehicle while impaired. On April 22, in the area of Snake Road and Old York Road, Wayne Gibbons of Waterdown was charged with operation of a motor vehicle while impaired and having a blood alcohol concentration of 80 mg or more. On April 16, in the area of Upper Middle Road and Headon Forest Drive, Mohab Emara of Oakville was charged with operation of a motor vehicle while impaired.

On April 13, in the area of Upper Middle Road and Walker’s Line, Mira Saric was charged with operation of a motor vehicle while impaired and driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 80 mg or more. Also that day, in the area of Lakeshore Road and Kenwood Avenue, Aldona Dubickas was charged with operation of a motor vehicle while impaired and failure or refusal to comply with the officer’s demand.

On April 9, in the area of Walker’s Line and Harvester Road, David Buttigieg was charged with driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 80 mg or more. On April 5, in the area of Fairview Street and Woodview Road, Christopher Perras of Brampton was charged with operation of a motor vehicle while impaired and driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 80 mg or more.

On April 3, in the area of Guelph Line and Upper Middle Road, Melinda Rizzo was charged with operation of a motor vehicle while impaired and driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 80 mg or more. Also on April 3, in the area of Appleby Line and the QEW, Conrad Parnham of Ancaster was charged with operation of a motor vehicle while impaired.

On April 2, in the area of Guelph Line and Derry Road, Raj Sidhu of Rockwood was charged with operation of a motor vehicle while impaired and driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 80 mg or more. On the same day, in the area of Mountainside Drive and Nottingham Avenue, Daryl Lavigne was charged with operation of a motor vehicle while impaired.

Traffic stops by the HRPS resulted in four individuals being charged this month, two of them Burlington residents. On April 26, in the area of Dundas Street and Millcroft Park Drive, Jason Jennison of Mississauga was charged with driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 80 mg or more.  On April 21, in the area of Allview Avenue and North Shore Boulevard East, Bryan Smith of Hamilton was charged with driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 80 mg or more. On April 18, in the area of New Street and Guelph Line, Andrew Oproiu was charged with driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 80 mg or more. On April 10, in the area of King Road and Surrey Lane, Andrew Kitching was charged with operation of a motor vehicle while impaired.

Two collisions resulted in charges for Burlington residents this month. On April 18, in the area of Treeland Street and Highland Street, Russell Palk was charged with operation of a motor vehicle while impaired and driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 80 mg or more. On April 2, in the area of Maple Avenue and Bellview Street, Aidan Logan was charged with operation of a motor vehicle while impaired and failure or refusal to comply with demand. 

On March 29, HRPS was conducting a R.I.D.E. initiative in the area of Guelph Line and Dundas Street.  As a result, Steven Adams of Milton was charged with driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 80 mg or more.

On April 2, Shawn Vanden Berg was charged in Oakville with driving a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of 80 mg or more.

Fraud

On April 8, Christopher McSwain, of Gatineau, Quebec, was located and arrested. He was charged with 12 counts of fraud under $5000, all related to contracts from 2017–2019 for snow removal services, roofing services, and cottage rentals. The contracts were signed with various company names, including “Alton Village Landscaping Group” and “Brant Hills Landscape Group.” McSwain was held pending a bail hearing.

Remember that all persons charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

“See something? Hear something? Know something? Contact Crime Stoppers,” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS). As you can see from this article, your calls matter!

The occurrences in this article were described in e-updates that include Burlington, Halton Hills, Milton, and Oakville. If you would like regular updates, subscribe to Community Notifications at https://www.haltonpolice.ca/en/news-and-updates/community-notifications.aspx.

COVID-19 Education and Enforcement

On April 16, the Government of Ontario announced enhanced enforcement measures under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act. The additional enforcement tool is in effect during the provincial stay-at-home order and only to enforce the stay-at-home order. On April 17, HRPS advised that their enforcement response to the Government of Ontario’s enhanced enforcement measures would remain the same. The HRPS focus is on the four Es:  engage, explain, educate, enforce. HRPS officers will not conduct random stops of vehicles or individuals for the purposes described in the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act. They will continue to respond to complaints and support efforts to raise awareness. Enforcement will be used as a last resort. Chief Tanner commented: “We will always be committed to the safety, protection and security of the entire community. It is my hope and expectation that our officers will not be put in the position of having to use enforcement as a mechanism to achieve what should occur through voluntary compliance.”

Drug Traffickers Operating in Halton

From April 1 to June 1, Crime Stoppers of Halton will take anonymous tips about opioid/fentanyl drug traffickers operating in Halton. If an arrest is made of a trafficker from your tip, you will be guaranteed the maximum $2000 reward. Call 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or visit https://haltoncrimestoppers.ca/crime-in-halton/targeting-traffickers to submit a tip. Contacting Crime Stoppers guarantees that you will remain anonymous and will not need to testify in court.