Arrests made in hate crimes - two charged with Willfully Promoting Hate

Crime 100By Staff

October 4th, 2019

BURLINGTON, ON

It took a lot of time and effort and some dogged follow up work – but it paid off in several ways.

Hate crime suspects

The distinctive marking on the knapsack were a major clue.

The police were able to arrest and charge two men with Willfully Promoting Hate and at the same time make it very clear to the public that this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated.

Investigators from the 3 District Criminal Investigations Bureau conducted an extensive and complex investigation between June and August of 2019. This case was solved through a tremendous amount of teamwork and collaboration with both internal investigative resources and external / community participation.

The HRPS would also like to thank local and national media outlets, the City of Burlington and local faith groups for bringing attention to this disturbing crime. As a result, community partners and citizens of Burlington provided access to security footage that assisted the HRPS in identifying the accused.

The remaining hate crime incidents are still under investigation and additional charges are pending. Anyone with information about any of these incidents is asked to contact investigator Detective Jared McLeod at 905-825-4777 ext. 2385 or ext. 2316.

Hate suspect 2 A

Suspects who left signs at city hall – walking away from cameras with poor quality lenses.

The Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) has made two arrests after investigating into several hate-motivated incidents that occurred in the City of Burlington in May and June 2019. The results of the investigation have provided grounds to lay charges in two of these incidents which took place between June 1 and 2, 2019 at Burlington City Hall and the Burlington Art Gallery and involved both Anti-Semitic and racist content.

Upon identification of both suspects, the HRPS sought approval by the Attorney General’s Office to lay a charge of “Willfully Promoting Hate”, as required by the Criminal Code of Canada. Approval to proceed with charges was granted on September 20, 2019.

On October 4, 2019, two males were arrested, charged and released for the below offences. Both accused are scheduled to appear on October 30, 2019, in the Milton Provincial Court at 9:00 AM.

Charged:
Matthew Wasikiewicz (21) of Burlington
• Willfully Promoting Hate x 2

Kyle Kroeplin (22) of Burlington
• Willfully Promoting Hate x 2

The Halton Regional Police Service is unwavering in its commitment to solve crime and bring those responsible to justice, particularly crimes that are hate-motivated. “There is no place in any community for hate. Perpetrators of crimes in Halton Region that target others because of their skin colour, race, religion, ethnic origin or any other factor will be rigorously pursued and brought to justice. Everyone in our community has the right to live, work and play in an environment free from fear,” says Chief Stephen Tanner.

Police - hate

Halton Regional Police Service is unwavering in its commitment to solve crime and bring those responsible to justice, particularly crimes that are hate-motivated.

Anyone with information about any of these incidents is asked to contact investigator Detective Jared McLeod at 905-825-4777 ext. 2385 or ext. 2316.

Tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers “See Something? Hear Something? Know Something? Contact Crime Stoppers” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca.

Related news stories:

Police looking for suspects.

Days later the police had picture of a person they wanted to interview.

Police press on looking for more information – detective work at its best.

Return to the Front page
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Comments are closed.