A 15-year-old boy, charged with first degree murder in the shooting death of a man in east London, will remain in custody until his next court appearance on October 16th.
The teen, who cannot be named under Canada’s youth criminal justice act, is accused in the September 6th homicide of 49-year-old Steve Sinclair (pictured). Sinclair was gunned down just after 5 a.m. outside a social club he operated in a plaza on Hamilton Road, near Gore Road.
“It certainly is unique (in London). In my memory, I don’t recall a 15-year-old charged with first degree murder,” said Detective Inspector Kevin Heslop, whose policing career spans almost 40 years.
No further details about the accused have been released, and Police have not commented on a possible motive. They won’t say if the boy is from London, if he was known to police, if he was known to the victim, nor if gang activity was involved.
The lack of information about the suspect isn’t due solely to restrictions placed on police by the youth criminal justice act.
“The act prohibits us from speaking publicly on his identity,” said Detective Inspector Heslop. “The other part of it is, the reality is, the gentleman who was killed — Mr. Sinclair — was a member of the Gate Keepers motorcycle club which is a support club for the Hells Angels. So, certainly, there will be members of organized crime that are going to be interested in knowing the identity of the person we’ve charged, so for that reason as well, we’re not releasing any identifiers.” he said.
Sinclair was described by those who knew him as a devoted partner, loving father, loyal friend, and talented musician. He left behind a fiancee, 11 children, and 5 grand-children.
“We have to remember that, although the victim in this case was a member of an outlaw motorcycle club, he still has family members here in the community that are trying to grieve and get through this, so we are doing what we can to support them at this time as well,” said Detective Inspector Heslop.
Police also confirmed Thursday that they had recovered the weapon believed to have been used in the shooting.
“Certainly, we have concerns when a 15-year-old is armed with a handgun, so our investigation will continue,” Heslop told AM980.
“We need to find out where he got the gun, and to find out if anyone else was involved.”
This was London’s sixth homicide of 2015.
Under Canada’s youth criminal justice act, the maximum sentence for first degree murder is 10 years. Youth aged 14 to 17, however, may be sentenced as adults under certain conditions.
“The crown has the option to go to the attorney general and ask for permission to seek what’s called an adult sentence should they be successful in the prosecution,” said veteran London lawyer Gord Cudmore. “If I were a betting man, I’d say I think they would make application for that.”
In the meantime, London Police are not ruling out the possibility of additional arrests, but at this time, they have not identified any additional suspects.
LONDON HOMICIDES 2015:
September 6th: 49-year-old Steven Patrick Sinclair of London is shot to death in a plaza at 1161 Hamilton Road just after 5 a.m. Police announced Sept.17th a 15-year-old boy had been arrested and charged with first degree murder.
July 1st: 50-year-old woman, Suzan Aisha Jacob, stabbed multiple times at apartment on Whitney St. Transported to hospital where she succumbs to her injuries. One suspect arrested, and charged with second degree murder.
June 14th: 18-year-old Jeremy Cook is shot to death while trying to retrieve a missing cellphone in the Highbury and Huron area. Three suspects were being sought in the case. One of the suspects being sought, 23-year-old Muhab Sultan, drowned in Ottawa’s Rideau River while being chased by police there for an unrelated matter. A second suspect, 24-year-old Mohamed Ibrahim Sail, turned himself into police in July.
May 15th: 23-year-old Jesse James is stabbed to death during a late night altercation on Richmond St. between Dundas and King. Two suspects, known to the victim, were later arrested and charged with second degree murder.
March 9th: 36-year-old Mark Andrew McCullagh was shot to death outside his home at 504 English St. No arrests have been made yet in that case, although Police said witnesses reported seeing three men flee the scene in a red, four-door pick-up truck.
March 2nd: 29-year-old James Willits was beaten to death inside his sixth floor apartment unit at 297 Baseline Road West on Monday, March 2nd. Police arrested and charged three people, known to the victim, with second degree murder.
http://www.am980.ca/2015/09/18/54625/
The teen, who cannot be named under Canada’s youth criminal justice act, is accused in the September 6th homicide of 49-year-old Steve Sinclair (pictured). Sinclair was gunned down just after 5 a.m. outside a social club he operated in a plaza on Hamilton Road, near Gore Road.
“It certainly is unique (in London). In my memory, I don’t recall a 15-year-old charged with first degree murder,” said Detective Inspector Kevin Heslop, whose policing career spans almost 40 years.
No further details about the accused have been released, and Police have not commented on a possible motive. They won’t say if the boy is from London, if he was known to police, if he was known to the victim, nor if gang activity was involved.
The lack of information about the suspect isn’t due solely to restrictions placed on police by the youth criminal justice act.
“The act prohibits us from speaking publicly on his identity,” said Detective Inspector Heslop. “The other part of it is, the reality is, the gentleman who was killed — Mr. Sinclair — was a member of the Gate Keepers motorcycle club which is a support club for the Hells Angels. So, certainly, there will be members of organized crime that are going to be interested in knowing the identity of the person we’ve charged, so for that reason as well, we’re not releasing any identifiers.” he said.
Sinclair was described by those who knew him as a devoted partner, loving father, loyal friend, and talented musician. He left behind a fiancee, 11 children, and 5 grand-children.
“We have to remember that, although the victim in this case was a member of an outlaw motorcycle club, he still has family members here in the community that are trying to grieve and get through this, so we are doing what we can to support them at this time as well,” said Detective Inspector Heslop.
Police also confirmed Thursday that they had recovered the weapon believed to have been used in the shooting.
“Certainly, we have concerns when a 15-year-old is armed with a handgun, so our investigation will continue,” Heslop told AM980.
“We need to find out where he got the gun, and to find out if anyone else was involved.”
This was London’s sixth homicide of 2015.
Under Canada’s youth criminal justice act, the maximum sentence for first degree murder is 10 years. Youth aged 14 to 17, however, may be sentenced as adults under certain conditions.
“The crown has the option to go to the attorney general and ask for permission to seek what’s called an adult sentence should they be successful in the prosecution,” said veteran London lawyer Gord Cudmore. “If I were a betting man, I’d say I think they would make application for that.”
In the meantime, London Police are not ruling out the possibility of additional arrests, but at this time, they have not identified any additional suspects.
LONDON HOMICIDES 2015:
September 6th: 49-year-old Steven Patrick Sinclair of London is shot to death in a plaza at 1161 Hamilton Road just after 5 a.m. Police announced Sept.17th a 15-year-old boy had been arrested and charged with first degree murder.
July 1st: 50-year-old woman, Suzan Aisha Jacob, stabbed multiple times at apartment on Whitney St. Transported to hospital where she succumbs to her injuries. One suspect arrested, and charged with second degree murder.
June 14th: 18-year-old Jeremy Cook is shot to death while trying to retrieve a missing cellphone in the Highbury and Huron area. Three suspects were being sought in the case. One of the suspects being sought, 23-year-old Muhab Sultan, drowned in Ottawa’s Rideau River while being chased by police there for an unrelated matter. A second suspect, 24-year-old Mohamed Ibrahim Sail, turned himself into police in July.
May 15th: 23-year-old Jesse James is stabbed to death during a late night altercation on Richmond St. between Dundas and King. Two suspects, known to the victim, were later arrested and charged with second degree murder.
March 9th: 36-year-old Mark Andrew McCullagh was shot to death outside his home at 504 English St. No arrests have been made yet in that case, although Police said witnesses reported seeing three men flee the scene in a red, four-door pick-up truck.
March 2nd: 29-year-old James Willits was beaten to death inside his sixth floor apartment unit at 297 Baseline Road West on Monday, March 2nd. Police arrested and charged three people, known to the victim, with second degree murder.
http://www.am980.ca/2015/09/18/54625/