A Markham resident said he feared for the safety of his wife and two children when five suspects carrying a hammer and a knife broke into his home this week.
Speaking to CP24 Wednesday night, the man, who did not want to be identified, recounted what transpired early Monday morning at his residence in the area of Steeles Avenue East and Grandview Avenue.
He said he was in bed when he heard a smashing noise.
“I thought maybe my kitten dropped some things, but it was like fishy,” the man said, so he went downstairs and encountered five people armed with hammers and a knife.
“I was like shocked. I told them, ‘Who are you?’ And they were yelling at me, ‘Bring the key! Bring the Ferrari key. I need the Ferrari key.’”
When two suspects tried to go to the second floor, the man said he prevented them as his family was upstairs.
“I stopped them. I said, ‘I gave you the key and follow me,’” recalled the man, who then led them to his office room on the main floor where the keys were.
“I gave them the key, and they forced me to open the garage door because they didn’t have the passcode, and I opened the garage door.”
After seeing that his other vehicle, a white BMW, was blocking the way, the man said the suspects also demanded the keys to that vehicle. He complied.
Shortly after, the suspects drove away with his Ferrari and BMW.
As that was happening, the man said his wife, who was locked in a bedroom with their two children, called 911. Officers arrived at the scene minutes after the suspects fled, he said.
On Wednesday, York Regional Police released a video of the home invasion as they announced that three teens had been arrested while two others remain outstanding.
In a video of the incident, five suspects can be seen hopping over a metal fence and multiple suspects appear to be carrying hammers.
According to police, the suspects got into the home by smashing a rear door and once inside, they threatened the victim and demanded the keys to his Ferrari and BMW SUV.
The males are later seen in the video with the victim, who opens the garage door for the suspects.
Once inside the garage, one suspect can be seen hopping into the Ferrari. The video shows the suspect making multiple attempts to back the vehicle out of the garage before striking another vehicle parked in the driveway.
Eventually, the suspects take off with the Ferrari and the BMW SUV, which was also in the laneway at the time.
The remaining suspects were spotted on camera fleeing the area in a black Acura TLX that was parked on the street. That vehicle, police said, had also been reported stolen, and investigators said they suspect it was involved in a jewelry store robbery in Markham on October 21.
The stolen Acura was later found in the area of Martin Grove Road and Steeles Avenue, investigators said.
“Members of the Hold-Up Unit contained the vehicle and two youths were taken into custody shortly afterward,” police said in a news release.
The stolen BMW was found near Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue, while the Ferrari was recovered in the area of Highway 50 and Fogal Road in Brampton, police added.
On Wednesday, members of the hold-up squad and emergency response units executed a search warrant at a home in Vaughan “in relation to a third suspect,” police said.
“While the suspect was not in the residence, he was later located and arrested in the City of Pickering,” the news release continued.
Police said the suspects who are in custody are ages 15, 16, and 17. They each face one count of armed robbery, disguise with intent, and possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000. At the time of the incidents, police said, the 17-year-old was on probation and the 15-year-old was on a release order for an unrelated offence.
None of the suspects can be identified as per the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Investigators said they are still searching for two suspects who they believe are males between the ages of 16 to 20.
“The investigation is ongoing and police would like to speak to anyone with video surveillance or dashcam footage in the area at the time of the incident,” the news release read.
With files from CP24’s Sijia Liu