 By Staff
July 22, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton Regional Police Child Abuse and Sexual Assault Unit have concluded an investigation into an incident of sexual assault.
The assault took place at Mall in Burlington on July 4, 2017. At approximately 7:00 p.m. on that date, an adult female was shopping in the mall when she was approached by a male. A short conversation ensued in the mall, followed by the accused sexually assaulting the female.
 The accused fled on foot once a passersby was alerted by the female. As a result of an investigation, police identified Ramesh Kukreja, 51 years, of Burlington.
Kukreja was arrested on July 20, 2017 and is charged with one count of sexual assault.
Anyone with information relating to this incident, or other incidents of sexual assault are encouraged to contact Detective Constable Adam Groulx at 905-465-8976 of the Halton Regional Police Child Abuse and Sexual Assault Unit, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com, or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
By Staff
July 19, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Last week, the Halton Regional Police received a complaint about an attempted employment scam that occurred during 2014.
The accused, Jagjit SINGH (51 years of Oakville), became acquainted through their mutual association in a religious group. During their contact, SINGH claimed to be a member of the Toronto Police Service. The victim was told that, in exchange for a sum of money, SINGH would be able to secure employment for him with the Police.
After the money was exchanged, SINGH provided various excuses for the delays and the lack of an employment offer.
Detectives believe that SINGH has attempted the same scam with other persons where he may have offered other employment opportunities (also fraudulent) with the Ford Motor Company. Investigators encourage those who may have been victimized to come forward.
Citizens are reminded to be extremely cautious with promises of advantage in any employment situation. Legitimate employment opportunities will NEVER involve the exchange of money.
Jagjit SINGH has been charged with Fraud Over $5000 and Personating a Peace Officer and is scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Milton on Wednesday August 16th 2017.
The police take great exception to anyone who tries to impersonate a police officer – they make sure they protect the brand. Jagjit SINGH will soon find out just how tough the Courts are this kind of offence.
By Staff
July 13, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
On Tuesday July 11th 2017 just before noon, in broad daylight, an elderly woman was at a plaza at 2421 New Street, Burlington when an unknown male suspect approached her from behind and demanded that she give him her purse.
The plaza, on the north side of New Street Line and west of Guelph Line, is small with little in the way of traffic, meant there were few people around to witness the crime.
The suspect grabbed the purse from the victim and a struggle ensued with the victim being knocked to the ground and hitting her head.
The purse strap broke and the suspect left with the victim’s purse on a bicycle riding towards New Street. A search of the area was conducted; however the suspect was not located.
The suspect is described as male, white, in his 20’s, 5’9″-6’0″ tall wearing a baseball hat and black Champion running shoes.
This type of crime in a city with the number of seniors it has can be terrifying – hopefully the police will increase their visual presence in the city giving seniors, especially women, a sense of being safe.
The Halton police are pretty good at catching criminals – hopefully the judge that convicts the man will hand out an appropriate sentence. The slaps on the wrist aren’t enough for this type of crime.
Anyone with information about this robbery are asked to contact Detective Phil Vandenbeukel of the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau – Robbery Team at 905-825 4747 ext. 2343, Crime Stoppers “See Something, Hear Something, Say Something” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), through the web at www.haltoncrimesoppers.ca or by texting “Tip 201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
By Staff
July 12th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton Regional Police have released an update on the shot that was fired in the parking lot of Motel 6 on the North Service Road.
It all started on Tuesday at just after 3:00 in the morning when a male suspect went to the reception desk, opened a knapsack and displayed a handgun to an employee and demanded access to a room where the male believed a female acquaintance was staying.
The suspect was given access to the room which turned out to be unoccupied at the time. The suspect then fled the area in what was described only as a silver hatchback vehicle. Police were called but the suspect and vehicle were not located.
 Motel 6 on the North Service Road. At approximately 11:25 AM, the suspect returned to Motel 6 where he confronted the female acquaintance and ended up chasing her on foot through the motel. The female ran to a vehicle in the parking lot which was occupied by one of her associates.
The suspect was then seen holding a handgun and threatened to kill the female. The suspect then shot one round towards the female which hit the front hood of the vehicle while she was sitting in the front passenger seat. The female and her associate then sped away in an attempt to escape but were chased by the suspect who had entered a vehicle.
The suspect continued to chase the female and her associate at high rates of speed for approximately 2 kilometres before he fled the area but not before a witness obtained the licence plate and provided it to police.
Police responded to the Motel 6 to investigate the shooting and also to the area of Mainway and Dillon Rd. in Burlington where the female and her associate fled to in the vehicle that had been shot. No injuries were sustained by anyone.
At approximately 4:30 PM, investigators located the suspect and the vehicle in an underground parking garage on Main Street West in Hamilton. The suspect, 28 year-old James Kohne PHIXAKOUNE of Hamilton was arrested without incident and returned to Burlington and held for bail charged with attempted murder and discharging a firearm.
On the morning of July 12th 2017, investigators located the involved handgun after executing a search warrant and the suspects’ residence and the vehicle he was operating.
PHIXAKOUNE has since been remanded into custody and will appear next in Milton Court on Friday July 14th 2017 at which time additional charges are expected.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Joe Barr of the 3 District Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905-825-4747 ext. 2385 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800 222-TIPS (8477), through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637.
By Staff
July 11th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
UPDATE – Suspect Arrested
Halton Regional Police Service have now arrested the suspect involved in this mornings shooting incident outside the Motel 6.
At approximately 4:30 PM, the suspect was located in Hamilton and taken into custody without incident.
The investigation is still ongoing and further details will be provided in the near future.
 Site of a shooting earlier today.
By Staff
July 11th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
A shot was fired in the parking lot of a North Service Road motel earlier today.
Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) are investigating a shooting that occurred at the Motel 6 located at 4345 North Service Road.
Motel 6 – The scene of more than one crime in Burlington Officers responded at approximately 11:30 a.m. to reports of a single gunshot fired in the parking lot of the motel.
The shot was fired at two occupants in a motor vehicle. Both the suspect, believed to be a lone male, and the victims left the scene in separate vehicles.
Police have since confirmed a second scene at Mainway and Dillon Road where the victim’s vehicle was recovered.
Police believe this is a targeted incident. No persons were injured and there is no immediate concern for public safety.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the 3 District Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905-825-4747 ext. 2316 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800 222-TIPS (8477), through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637.
The Motel 6 has been the scene of several significant policeinvestigations. In November 2013 police were looking for a male who had been stabbed in the torso.
In February of 2015 there was an investigation on human trafficking; uniform patrol were called to the motel where they found a woman being held against her will. Police rescued the woman and arrested two males who were charged with Trafficking a Person for the Purpose of Exploitation.
 By Staff
July 7th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
You can almost set an alarm clock by the rate at which these bank scams come along.
People tend to trust their banks; when they see an email with a bank logo included it is natural to assume the message is from your bank.
You need to check the content of the email – and if there is any doubt – delete the message.
The banks are as overwhelmed as the bank customers are over ID theft and email scams – it is a problem that is out of control and won’t get any better until internet traffic security is improved.
What is it about the mail below that tells you it is fraudulent? First banks don’t use email to advise their clients – they will call you.
Second look at the address the email came from. It wasn’t’ a bank.
 It isn’t real. It is an attempt to get at your bank account.
By Staff
July 4th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The Bank of Montreal appears to be the Canadian bank of choice for the identity thieves. The most recent goes as like this:
The biggest clue is the sender of the email – not even a mention of a bank in the email address the notice came from.
When you see stuff like that click delete.
And know as well that your bank will not use email to send you this kind of notice.
For some reason BMO, ScotiaBank and TD seem to be the choices for the identity thieves that have us on their target lists.
By Staff
June 22, 2017
BURLINGTON,ON
It was after 3 in the morning – two male suspects, one armed with a handgun the other armed with an expandable baton, entered the Shoppers Drug Mart located at 3023 New Street in Burlington.
The suspects rounded up employees before heading for the pharmacy department where they demanded narcotics.
After an undisclosed quantity of oxycodone was provided, the suspects fled the store, running west along the front of the plaza and then north along Guelph Line.
A search of the area by canine and Tactical Rescue Unit (TRU) members was conducted however the suspect were not located.
The suspect armed with the handgun is described as male, hispanic, 5’8″ to 5’10” tall, heavy build, 200 to 250 lbs, wearing a black hoodie with a black & white bandana, dark pants, black gloves and white shoes.
The suspect armed with the expandable baton is described as male, white, 6′ tall, thin build, 150 lbs wearing a dark toque with a beige bandana covering his face and black golves.
Anyone with information about this robbery are asked to contact Detective Phil Vandenbeukel of the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau – Robbery Team at 905-825 4747 ext. 2343, Crime Stoppers “See Something, Hear Something, Say Something” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), through the web at www.haltoncrimesoppers.ca or by texting “Tip 201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
By Staff
June 22nd, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
They are sort of like the weather – you can’t avoid them if you use the internet.
Somewhere along the way someone sold an Identity Thief one of our addresses and like clockwork – in comes an email warning about a danger lurking out there for us.
This one was related to an BMO account.
We know what we do with our various bank accounts – but some people think their bank might be trying to tell them something important.
Your bank will never send you this kind of notice – they value you as a customer – they will call you if there is a problem. Because when there is a serious problem the banks end of having to pay out at least some of the loss.
 We removed the name of the recipient. This did not come from BMO. That verify your account now link could wipe you out financially. It is the first step to getting their hooks into you.
By Staff
June 22, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
This scam sounded very professional – almost as if they knew what they were talking about.
Your authentication device synchronization is the process of establishing consistency among data from a slave source to a master data source and vice versa and the continuous harmonization of the data over time.
We periodically update our master DataKey and a resynchronization is always required. In this case all changes to the data are marked with timestamps. Synchronization proceeds by transferring all data with a timestamp later than the previous synchronization.
You will find the instructions to resynchronize your authentication device by downloading the attached file.
 Failure to synchronize your authentication device by 12:00 A.M. will lead to your device being deactivated. To ensure ongoing service and avoid payments or processing delays please proceed to your device synchronization now.
As part of our ongoing commitment to keeping you informed of matters that may impact you, we wish to inform you that your authentication device synchronization is required for insurance coverage purposes. Please do not delay or any transactions in this time period will not be covered by our insurance.
Web Business Banking
TD Commercial Banking
Here was the problem with this one – we don’t bank with Toronto Dominion. Would a TD customer gt taken in by this? Some of them might – when they learn what is behind that file they want you to download it will be a sad day.
Banks DO NOT communicate with their customers this way.
 By Staff
June 21st, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
This news will keep the lawyers in the region happy.
The province announced the building of a new courthouse in Oakville replace the court house in Milton – something everyone has been asking for.
 Province announces a new court house for the Region – construction slated to start in 2019 – will open four years later. Attorney General Yasir Naqvi was joined by Kevin Flynn, MPP for Oakville, Indira Naidoo-Harris, MPP for Halton and Eleanor McMahon, MPP for Burlington, to make the announcement at the site of the future Halton Region Consolidated Courthouse.
The new 21-courtroom facility will offer a broad range of justice, family, social and victim services, bringing the Superior Court of Justice and Ontario Court of Justice operations in Milton and Burlington together at one accessible location.
 Burlington MPP Eleanor McMahon at the site o the new court for the Region to be built in Oakville – construction to start in 2019 and open four years later. The building will feature new technology to make the court run more efficiently which will help speed up the criminal justice system in the Halton Region. For example, witnesses and other vulnerable persons will be able to appear before court from remote locations through video conferencing or from a secure room through closed-circuit television.
Construction on the courthouse is expected to begin in late 2019 and be complete about four years later.
The new courthouse will be located at the intersection of William Halton Parkway and Third Line, North and west of the Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital.
To get to the new courthouse, people will be able to take the GO bus from Bronte and Oakville GO stations. The courthouse will also be accessible by a rapid transit bus, which is planned to run along Dundas Street from Bronte Road in Burlington to the Kipling TTC subway station.
The site of the future courthouse is provincially owned property.
By Staff
June 20th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Thefts from Motor Vehicle Occurrences Significantly Up in Burlington.
The Halton Regional Police Service report a significant increase in reported thefts from motor vehicles since the beginning of 2017.
As of June 18th 2017, there have been 341 reported occurrences of citizens having their motor vehicles entered and items stolen which are up significantly from the 119 reported occurrences during the same time frame last year and represents a 187% increase in this crime.
In 219 of these occurrences, entry was possible because the vehicles were left unlocked. In 59 of these occurrences entry was made by smashing a window and 24 occurrences by forcing the doorframe and/or lock punch. There were 29 reported occurrences of licence plates being stolen from vehicles and 10 “other” occurrences which include theft of vehicle batteries, tires/rims and manufacturer emblems.
Almost every community in Burlington has been targeted by thieves (see attached HEAT Map). These are crimes of opportunity and are preventable.
Police are reminding the public of the following prevention tips:
• Ensure your unattended vehicle(s) are kept locked/secure
• Never leave personal identification or valuables in your vehicle
• Park in a well-lit and attended areas whenever possible
• Never leave spare keys in your vehicle
• If you have to leave valuables in your vehicle, lock them in your trunk. Don’t tempt thieves by leaving packages or purses in plain view or on the seat.
• Remove GPS navigation and cell phone devices & power cords from view when not in your vehicle
• Consider installing CCTV / Surveillance cameras which can capture the crime and aid in suspect identification
• Help police catch those responsible by keeping an eye out in your communities and immediately reporting any suspicious activity
Anyone with information about person(s) responsible for these crimes or persons selling stolen property from these crimes are asked to contact the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905-825 4747 ext. 2316, Crime Stoppers “See Something, Hear Something, Say Something” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), through the web at www.haltoncrimesoppers.ca or by texting “Tip 201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
By Staff
June 19th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton Regional Police Service Child Abuse and Sexual Assault Unit investigated an incident of sexual assault allegedly perpetrated by a practitioner of alternative medicine at his clinic in Burlington in May of this year.
The victim in the matter was an adult female patient.
As a result of the investigation, Hugo Ramiro, 42 years, of Toronto was arrested on June 19th, 2017. He is charged with one count of sexual assault.
Anyone with any information about this matter is encouraged to contact Detective Constable Andrew Hulbert at 905-465-8971 of the Halton Regional Police Child Abuse and Sexual Assault Unit or Crime Stoppers “See something, Hear something, Say something” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca, or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
By Staff
June 14th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton Regional Police reported that on May 2/3rd, several unlocked vehicles were entered in the Seneca Avenue area of Burlington.
At one residence, the suspects stole credit and debit cards out of a vehicle which were later used fraudulently in the City of Hamilton. Police are seeking the public’s assistance locating the first male and identifying the second suspect. A warrant exists for the first suspect who was identified as, Richard SHIELDS (57) of Hamilton.
A second suspect has yet to be identified. The same two suspects are responsible for further car entries in Burlington on May 18th.
Anyone who knows the whereabouts of or can identify the suspects is asked to contact D/Cst Dave Macedo or Det Ellie Bale of the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau – Residential Property Crime Team @ 905-825-4747 ext 2312 or 2316. Tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers “See something, Hear something, Say something” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca, or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
Then there was an ooops from the Regional police – Shields was not there man – they released the following:
After further investigation and with public assistance, police have determined SHIELDS is not one of the persons involved and as such is not a suspect in these occurrences and a warrant for his arrest no longer exists.
 Suspect 1  Suspect 2 Police are seeking the assistance of the public to help identify the two suspects captured on video.
 By Staff
June 14th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
There are enough clues in this Identity Theft scam to see it for just what it is – a way for the sender to determine that you are gullible and begin gathering information about you.
Vigilant, vigilant, vigilant – check what lands in your mail box. Sort o like crossing a street – look both ways and then begin crossing.
Count the number of errors, clues and red flags in this one:
 By Staff
June 11th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
At 4:00am this morning the Halton Regional Police Service and Burlington Fire Department responded to a fire in Lansdown Park at 3448 Hannibal Road in Burlington.
 The first responders found the playground structure fully engulfed in flames. The fire was quickly brought under control and extinguished. The playground structure sustained significant damage.
Investigators are think this fire might be related to two similar incidents that have occurred within the last week in Burlington.
On Saturday June 10th 2017 at 3:00 am, a fire was reported at the playground outside St Anne Elementary School at 4675 Doug Wright Drive. That fire, too, resulted in significant damage to the children’s playground structure.
Prior to that, on Saturday June 3rd there was a fire at Emerson Park – 2390 Sutton Drive in Burlington. A smouldering fire causing heavy smoke inside a children’s play tube that was extinguished before more extensive damage could be caused.
These fires are being treated as arson.
Anyone with information pertaining to these fires is asked to contact the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905-825 4747 ext. 2316, or Crime Stoppers (See Something, Hear Something, Say Something) at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca or by texting “Tip201″with your message to 274637 (crimes).
By Staff
June 5, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
During the period of 16-22 May, uniform and plainclothes officers from across all areas of the Halton Regional Police Service supported the National driving campaign known as ‘Canada Road Safety Week’, conducting a heightened level of traffic enforcement on area roadways.
 Regional police enforcing highway traffic act during May long weekend – 9% more charges laid in 2017. Officers focused on what has become known as the ‘Big 3 Killers’ on our roads, including aggressive driving, distracted driving and impaired operation by alcohol or drug.
During the seven days of enforcement, which ended with the conclusion of the Victoria Day Long Weekend, Halton Police laid a total of 2,082 Provincial offence charges, commonly known as “traffic tickets”.
This total represents a 9% increase from the 2016 campaign, when 1,903 charges were laid. The top three charges included:
1. Speeding;
2. Documentary infractions including licensing and insurance; and
3. Disobey stop sign – fail to stop.
Interesting to note that distracted driving was not one of the top three.
During this campaign, Halton Police conducted a variety of enforcement, including RIDE, to specifically address the ongoing concern of motorists choosing to drive while impaired.
14 drivers were either driving with over 80mgs of alcohol in their system, or refused to provide a breath sample, which resulted in a criminal charge, 90-day licence suspension and 7-day vehicle impound.
3 drivers were driving impaired by drug, which resulted in a criminal charge, 90-day licence suspension and 7-day vehicle impound.
23 drivers were driving in the alcohol warn range, with roadside breath testing resulting in 3/7/30-day roadside suspensions.
1 driver was driving in the drug warn range, with the DRE/SFST test resulting in a 3/7/30-day roadside suspension.
In contrast, 12 motorists were arrested and charged in 2016 with impaired driving related offences including impaired by drug.
Halton Police ask the public who observe a vehicle being operated in a manner which places you or anyone else in danger, please call 911 for an immediate police response (#makethecall911).
By Staff
June 4th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Cal Millar, a Halton Crime Stoppers Board member said there “was a steady stream throughout the day” and added that it “Looks like we have more than doubled the number of people from last year, just looking at the total of donations.”
 The flow of traffic was steady through the day – volunteers were on hand to help people with large cartons of documents. Miller was reporting to his fellow Crime stoppers Board members on their annual shredding event they did on Saturday with FileBank, an accredited document shredding company.
In the past Crime Stoppers had difficulty letting people know about the event. Traditional media didn’t’ seem to attract the people Crime Stoppers believed were out there wanting to use such a service.
 FileBanks “The Beast” chewed up more than five tons of sensitive documents last Saturday Identity theft has become a crime that is out of control with the banks reporting loses in the billions of dollars. Many of those identity thefts came about when thieves tricked people into giving them information though a web site or they went through personal garbage looking for a bank statement – any document with personal information that allowed the thieves to create a profile of a person and then go after their money.
 Cal Millar on the left with Detective Constable Jodi Richmond on the right counting out the cash donations from people who had their sensitive financial documents shredded – more than $4000 was raised for Crime Stoppers The banks found they were close to helpless in preventing these crimes but were the organization that had to bear the cost when a crime was discovered.
The Burlington Gazette worked with the banks, the Regional Police, Crime Stoppers and their partner FileBank to put together a program that told people about the shredding event.
Using the Gazette website combined with what were called “banknote coupons” that were created for each of the participating banks, Crime Stoppers succeeding in convincing the banks to serve as the front line in this effort to direct people to the shredding event.
Millar reports that “we more than doubled attendance. It was the best attended shred so far. We took in more than $4,000 which was the most financially rewarding community shred we have had. And almost 10,000 pounds of shredded paper (almost five tons) was largest amount we have destroyed.
 “Banknote coupons” the size of a $5 bill were handed out to the customers at the banks who chose to participate in the program. The notes were customized for each bank and told people of the shredding event – which resulted in the highest turnout ever. 
Pulling together six organizations: Regional Police, Crime Stoppers, FileBank and three of the charted banks took some doing – but five tons of sensitive financial documents were shredded and some crimes prevented.
 By Staff
May 31, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
They come in at the rate of a couple every day.
Most of them are immediately evident as phishing attempts and they get discarded.
From time to time there is a message that catches the eye (we once got caught by a United State Postal Service scan – we were expecting a parcel and we thought this was a part of the delivery notice)
This scam was aimed at TD Bank customers – we don’t bank with TD so we knew it was a phishing attempt.
However for those people who are TB Bank customers it might have read as a real notice and you might have responded.
 The use of a photograph can be deceiving. Whenever there is something important – your bank calls you. They don’t want to lose you as a customer over what is a technical matter.
This one was good – look it over and see if you can identify the flaws.
Remember the cardinal rule – if in doubt – don’t.
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