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Hamilton Spectator
a day ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Hamilton man with history of gun crimes, including being shot twice, faces charges
A 26-year-old Hamilton man — who has survived being shot twice and was also twice convicted in connection with shootings — is facing new gun and drug charges. Hamilton police major drugs and gangs unit searched a residence and vehicle in Hamilton's east end on Thursday, police said. Detectives seized a loaded Glock 22 handgun, 26 rounds of ammunition, about 35 grams of suspected fentanyl, along with codeine and hydromorphone pills, C$1,740 and US$170. Donavan Hines , 26, and a 24-year-old woman were arrested and jointly charged with firearm, drug and proceeds of crime offences. Hines faces four further charges of possession contrary to an order, because he is already prohibited by the courts for life from possessing weapons. Loaded gun seized from east-end Hamilton search where Donavan Hines, 26, was arrested and charged. The Spectator has previously reported on Hines, who was shot in a gunfight during broad daylight on July 28, 2021 that left him with paralysis. He was still in a wheelchair in August 2023 when he was convicted in that shooting. Hines also survived being shot at in a drive-by shooting at Mohawk Road East, east of Upper James Street, in October 2020. And was convicted of robbery in another, earlier shooting. In the brazen July 2021 shooting Hines was shot eight times by a masked gunman around 5:10 p.m. A then 23-year-old Hines was shot while sitting in a black BMW parked behind a restaurant on Oak Avenue at Barton Street East. Video showed Hines indiscriminately firing retaliatory shots, despite people being out on the street and sitting on nearby porches. 'Quite frankly we're just lucky nobody died to as a result of this,' Ontario Court Justice Michael Wendl said while sentencing Hines to four years. Donavan Hines, in a photo from a 2018 Hamilton police release, is facing new gun and drug charges. Hines pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm and breaching a weapons prohibition order in that case. After credit for pretrial custody he had about 11 months left on his sentence, which would have concluded last summer. Hines also pleaded guilty to robbery in another shooting in March 2018 at Emerald Street North at Barton Street East. In that case a 20-year-old, who Hines new from high school, was shot in the neck during an attempted robbery. 'The Hamilton Police Service remains committed to removing illegal firearms and dangerous drugs from our streets,' police said in a release about the latest gun and drug charges. Anyone with information can contact major drugs and gangs Det. Sgt. Michelle Wiley at 905-546-3887 or mwiley@ . Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
CBC
2 days ago
- CBC
Hamilton police officers who shot dozens of times at Erixon Kabera killing him cleared by SIU
Social Sharing Two Hamilton police officers who shot and killed Erixon Kabera last November won't be criminally charged, says the Special Investigations Unit (SIU). On Nov. 9, two officers shot as many as 24 bullets at Kabera in his apartment building hallway before he collapsed, Ontario's police watchdog said in its report released Friday. He had been holding a replica hand gun, which officers mistook for a real firearm. Kabera, a 43-year-old father of three, was taken to the Hamilton General Hospital with eight gunshot wounds, including some in his back, and pronounced dead in the early hours of Nov. 10. "On my assessment of the evidence, there are no reasonable grounds to believe that either subject official committed a criminal offence in connection with the complainant's death," said SIU director Joseph Martino in the report. Family members, friends and members of the Rwandan community in Canada, of which Kabera was part, have been calling for answers from police and the SIU since his death. The Hamilton Police Service said in a statement late Friday morning it recognizes "the profound impact this incident has had on Erixon's family, the broader community and our members." "For now, our Service remains committed to meeting with Erixon's family and Rwandan community leaders to find a path forward whenever the community is ready," HPS said in the statement. One officer involved declined to be interviewed One of the two officers involved declined to be interviewed by the SIU, as is her legal right, but did release her notes, Martino noted. The other officer was interviewed, but didn't release his notes. The SIU also interviewed several witnesses, reviewed 911 calls, police radio recordings, forensic and physical evidence and a coroner's report. According to the SIU report, police were called at about 4:30 p.m. Nov. 9 to the fifth floor of a Main Street W. apartment building. A resident had reported that a man had been knocking on their door and appeared to be holding a handgun. "He would proceed to enter and exit his apartment several times, approaching the door to the [resident's] apartment ... to knock on the door, turn the door handle, and asked to be let in," said the report. The report does not name Kabera, but rather refers to him as "the complainant." When the two officers arrived, they found the man, Kabera, in the hallway. They called out to him as he entered his apartment and locked the door, but then came out again. "The complainant was holding what appeared to be a handgun in his right hand at waist level, pointed at the floor," said the report. "The object in the complainant's possession was not an actually firearm, although it did give the appearance of being a genuine semi-automatic pistol." He raised the replica gun in the officers' direction and walked toward them, said the report. "He was immediately met with gunfire from the officers," said the SIU. The officers shot multiple rounds as they retreated, but the bullets "had no effect on the complainant who continued to advance on the officers," the report said. One of the officers used a taser on him as well. Then the other officer fired seven or eight more shots, and Kabera collapsed and landed on his back. Police performed first aid on him before paramedics arrived. One of the officers was bleeding after being wounded in the back of his head. He had mistakenly thought Kabera had fired that shot, but it actually came from the other officer. "An honest but mistaken belief in the highly charged atmosphere that prevailed," Martino said. The initial statement on Nov. 10 from the SIU had said there was an exchange of gunfire between a man and police — but the next day, the SIU issued another statement clarifying that, based on "further investigation," it did "not appear that the man discharged a firearm," but rather two police officers did. Martino determined the officers believed they had to fire their weapons at Kabera to protect themselves and that he was holding a gun. "A further retreat or withdrawal might have been available to the officers, but neither was viable given the speed at which events unfolded and the presence of fifth-floor residents, whose safety would have been imperiled," the director wrote. Family waiting for answers for more than 200 days Kabera's death prompted outcry from his family, friends, members of the Black community in Hamilton and beyond. He was the oldest of five siblings and a father of three teenage children. His brother Parfait Karekezi previously said Kabera was "everything" to him. "Erixon was not only my brother, he was my friend. He was my role model. He was my mentor," he previously told CBC Hamilton. He said Kabera was his "confidant," and someone "who had all my secrets." Since Nov. 10, Karekezi and other members of Kabera's family and community have been calling for transparency around what happened that night and accountability for his death. On its website, the SIU says it aims to complete investigations within 120 days, but it took more than 200 for Kabera's report to come out. "In some cases, including death cases, investigators may need to wait for outside experts and agencies to complete reports such as toxicology and pathology reports," a spokesperson with the SIU told CBC Hamilton previously. "We understand how difficult waiting can be for persons involved in our investigations, including the families of those who have been seriously injured or who have died." In Friday's SIU report, the police watchdog said Kabera's postmortem examination was received from the Coroner's Office on May 12. 'They killed him like a dog' Yves Ikobe, another brother of Kabera's, told CBC previously his brother had "multiple" gunshot wounds and broken bones. He also said there were at least six or seven bullets that hit the wall, from what he saw in Kabera's apartment. "They killed him like a dog," he said. Ikobe was one of the around 400 people who gathered outside of Hamilton's City Hall in the days after Kabera's death to mourn him. "He was a very kind soul," Ikobe told the crowd that night.
CTV News
3 days ago
- CTV News
Hamilton Police investigate Mountain shooting
The Hamilton Police Service is investigating a shooting that occurred in the area of Upper Ottawa Street and Unsworth Drive on May 27, 2025.
Hamilton Spectator
31-05-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Hamilton police board refuses to debate motion on Charter breach policy
It was more than a year ago when retired Crown attorney Andrew Bell, delegating before Hamilton's police board, panned the service after a court ruling found officers violated Charter rights when they unnecessarily broke down a door during a raid and failed to provide an accused their right to counsel. 'No criminal case should ever be lost or comprised due to a Charter breach by the Hamilton Police Service,' Bell told the board in February 2024, calling the tossed drug case and no-knock raid a 'monstrous failure.' Bell, who has decades of experience in Charter litigation and compliance, proposed the board implement a new policy that ensured Hamilton's police chief would notify the board whenever an officer committed a Charter breach. 'I want this board to take action. Be a pioneer.' On Thursday, that opportunity to act was placed squarely in front of the board, with citizen member Anjali Menezes moving a motion that proposed heightened monitoring and accountability of police-involved Charter violations. They opted against it. Motions at board meetings require a mover and a seconder before it can be discussed and voted on. Menezes, the author of the motion, understandably moved it. But when it came time for a seconder, no other board member raised their hand, leaving the motion to not be discussed — much less voted on. 'I am disappointed and upset, absolutely,' Menesez told The Spectator after the meeting. 'I very much suspected this outcome could be a possibility, but I am hopeful there may be a way to try again … I'm not going to give up.' Aside from Menezes, board members present at Thursday's meeting were chair Don Robertson, vice-chair Esther Pauls and provincial appointee Shaun Padulo. Mayor Andrea Horwath (injured) and Coun. Cameron Kroetsch (suspended) were absent. Menezes told the board her two-page motion was inspired by Bell's delegation last year, which led her 'on a year-long journey to learn about this topic' and how the board can help police safeguard the Charter rights of all Hamilton residents. The Spectator has reported on several court rulings in recent years which found Hamilton officers violated people's Charter rights while making arrests. That includes a scathing decision last March, when a man was acquitted on all charges after a judge found two officers racially profiled him during a traffic stop and illegally searched his car. Among the proposals in the motion were that: Its purpose wasn't to make the service look bad, Menezes stressed to board members. Instead, she described it as another part of the board's responsibilities to ensure adequate and effective policing in Hamilton. 'Just like how we get annual reports from the professional standards branch,' she said, adding Charter breaches aren't something that should be reported to the board as a courtesy, but rather a requirement. Earlier in Thursday's meeting, four people delegated before the board about the motion. All implored members to pass it. 'There has been no motion put before the board which is more important than the one before the board today,' Bell, who started working for the local Crown in 1979, said during an impassioned delegation. 'Charter compliance is an essential and indispensable part of providing adequate and effective policing. Passing this motion will show this board is serious about requiring the Hamilton Police Service to safeguard the Charter rights of everyone in this city.' Bell said the onus is on the board to impress upon the service the importance of reducing its number of Charter breaches to zero. He added Charter violations should be reflected in the chief's annual performance review. 'If the chief doesn't treat Charter compliance seriously — unless HPS members, from deputy chiefs to cadets, know that Charter breaches on his watch are not trivial slips but career-limiting failures — the essential cultural change that HPS must make will not occur.' In March, after a court found two local officers violated a person's Charter rights during a 2022 traffic stop, police said they had implemented enhanced training on Charter rights and unconscious bias. 'We are committed to a comprehensive approach that includes reviewing policies, practices and decision-making processes to ensure they uphold human rights. We recognize the impact of these decisions on our community and remain committed to ensuring fair and impartial policing in Hamilton.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Toronto Sun
28-05-2025
- Toronto Sun
2 Hamilton youths, including 11-year-old, cuffed in stolen vehicle probe
14-year-old also arrested, more suspects sought after cops tried to stop stolen van in East Mountain A Hamilton Police officer's shoulder patch Photo by Hamilton Police Service / Toronto Sun Hamilton Police have arrested a pair of youths, including an 11-year-old, who fled from officers in a stolen van. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Cops said that on Tuesday at about 2:45 a.m., they were called to the Rymal-Fletcher Rds. area after receiving reports that people were attempting to steal vehicles from driveways. When officers arrived, the found a white van with about three to five teens in it; however, the suspects fled in the vehicle when police attempted to stop it. Read More Cops said that a short time later, the van was found unoccupied on Fletcher and a search turned up an 11-year-old and a 14-year-old, both of Hamilton. One of the youths is facing three counts of failure to comply with a release order and possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000. Police believe that more suspects were involved and anyone with information should contact them at 905-546-3886 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 or RECOMMENDED VIDEO Canada Toronto & GTA Columnists Tennis Columnists
