Toronto man, 51, arrested after downtown ‘gang war’ kidnapping

Toronto:Toronto police say they have charged a 51-year-old Toronto man in relation to a shootout in a downtown condo that culminated with the kidnapping and torture of two teenage boys.
Police said that on Apr. 18, members of the “Young Buck Killas” gang were hosting a party in a condo on the 25th floor of a condo building at 300 Front Street, near Blue Jays Way.
Staff Insp. Mike Earl said that a rival gang, referred to as the “Queen’s Drive Crips,” then came to crash a party the Young Buck Killas were hosting at the condo.At around 3 a.m. on Apr. 19 a shooting broke out between the two groups in the hallway with approximately eight to 10 shots fired from a number of different guns.
Surveillance camera footage from an elevator shows four suspects stepping out into the hallway, but then running back into the elevator with guns drawn. One occupant of the elevator appears to have been shot and falls to the ground.
All occupants of the condo fled the scene and later gathered at a townhouse in the Swansea Mews neighbourhood where two 17-year-old boys were accused of tipping off the “Crips” about the party.
At the townhouse, police say the boys were tied to a chair, beaten and forced to play Russian Roulette with a loaded handgun.
The victims, police say, were subsequently taken to two other addresses in the Lawrence Heights area. Earl said the teens were once again tied to chairs and beaten. At some point, they were also forced to perform sexual acts, police say.
Ransom demands were then made to the victims’ family members and the teens were released on April 21 when the ransom was paid.
On April 23, police say 19-year-old suspect Quinton Gardiner, who is allegedly one of the leaders of the ‘Young Buck Killas,’ was arrested and charged with kidnapping related offences.
On Friday, a suspect identified as Michael Hollinger was arrested and charged with one count of kidnapping, one count of assault with a weapon and one count of obstruct police.
He is scheduled to appear in court at Old City Hall on Saturday.
Police sources tell CTV Toronto Hollinger’s home in Lawrence Heights was allegedly used to house the two kidnapped boys.
Two others wanted on Canada-wide warrants in relation to the kidnapping, Lincoln Anthony Richards and a 17-year-old boy, are still outstanding.