Shooting involving tow trucks shakes public faith in industry: official | Media Pyro

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A man accused in London of firing from a tow truck at a rival company’s rig over the weekend is already facing charges after allegedly pointing a gun at a fellow driver last year, court records show.

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No one was injured in Saturday’s shooting, which led to two arrests in Oakville, but it has prompted a towing industry to call for changes to the unregulated zone.

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A tow truck driver was southbound on Adelaide Street South at around 10:20pm when another tow truck driver began following him. A man in the tailings rig fired six shots from a handgun — five hitting the tailgate and one smashing through the windshield — before speeding off, London police said.

The shooter’s truck was last seen heading south on Dearness Drive and was later tracked to Oakville, where Halton Regional Police arrested two men without incident, police said.

According to three London Towing industry sources, shots were fired from an RMS Towing vehicle and struck a London Towing & 50 auto unlock rig.

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The owners of both the companies refused to comment on the incident.

Blake St. Denis, 21, and Ali Banga, 25, both of London, were charged with possession of a motor vehicle with a firearm, recklessly discharging a firearm with intent to injure and possession of a restricted or prohibited firearm without a license.

St. Denis is charged with failure to comply with a release order and failure to stop police, while Banga is also charged with breach of probation and possession of a firearm or ammunition contrary to a restraining order. Both are in custody and will be produced in court on Tuesday.

St. Denis already faces several weapons-related charges following an incident March 6, 2021, on Adelaide Street near Huron Street in which an SUV containing a man and a woman pulled up next to another vehicle and the SUV’s driver pointed a gun. The police said then.

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Police arrested St. Denis and a 22-year-old woman, who police said seized a loaded semi-automatic handgun and a prohibited 15-round magazine.

St. Denise Charges include pointing a firearm, negligent possession of a firearm, criminal possession of a weapon, operating a motor vehicle with a firearm and other weapons offenses. He was released on bail with conditions such as observing a curfew, not having contact with co-defendants or victims and not possessing any weapons, court documents said.

The case has been remanded to the Superior Court for a confirmation hearing – used to confirm that both the prosecution and the defense are ready for the upcoming trial – On July 23.

Earlier this year, St. Denis was charged along with Ali Bhatti’s boyfriend Nurse Linda Marques, 30, was shot dead in the driveway of the couple’s northwest London home on September 10, 2021 – after police seized guns and drugs from a vehicle and their Waterrock Crescent home on January 6.

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St. Denis was charged with possession of fentanyl Oxycodone Court records also show possession of cocaine for trafficking. The case will be heard again in court on December 2.

The shooting involving the tow trucks — the city’s 19th this year — came a day after a suspicious fire at an east end towing compound.

Firefighters were called to a fire at a tow yard on Clark Road around 6:15 a.m. Friday, no one was injured, and investigators determined the fire to be suspicious, police said.

A burned out tow truck and flatbed truck were visible behind a barbed wire fence at Low Price Towing at 74 Clark Road with a pair of dogs guarding the property. The owner declined to comment on the fire.

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A police spokeswoman said investigators are looking into possible links between the fire and the shooting, but officials in the towing industry say they have no connection.

Dwayne Cameron of Clarks & Sturdis Services said incidents like the shooting shake the public’s perception and trust in the towing industry.

Drivers often fight each other to be first at crash scenes, said Cameron, director of the London Towing Association, which has sought to self-regulate the city’s operators.

“It’s going to get worse. Our boys are threatened,” he said, adding that some companies have low standards for hiring drivers and only pay them commission. “That’s why they run.”

On July 22, 2022, Garnet Pridy, 56, was killed in a crash involving a tow truck in the parking lot of a commercial plaza at Southdale and Wellington roads. Abdul Kasoun, 23, was charged with dangerous driving. Death Failure to stop at the scene of an accident results in death.

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