Three men from the Toronto area now face the eye-popping total of more than 350 criminal charges after being arrested in connection with what the Ontario Provincial Police described as 20 commercial break-ins across Eastern Ontario this past summer.
The break-ins began in July and continued into September, the OPP said in a Dec. 16 news release, adding that the thieves would primarily target convenience stores that had closed for the night, forcing their way inside before taking cigarettes and lottery tickets.
The locations included: three in Ottawa, five in Kingston, two each in Brockville and Cornwall and eight in the Leeds, Grenville, Russell County, Lennox and Addington and Quinte West OPP areas.
The OPP said arrest warrants for the three individuals were issued in late October following an investigation by the force’s Community Street Crime Unit in collaboration with police in Kingston, Brockville, Cornwall and Ottawa Police Service, as well as multiple OPP detachments. The individuals were already in custody in another jurisdiction, the release added.
The suspects were transferred to eastern Ontario and were formally charged on Tuesday, and they remained in custody, police said.
Karoly Csombok, 27, of Etobicoke, was charged with:
- Break and enter (20 counts)
- Conspiracy to commit an indictable offence (18)
- Possession of break-in tools (20 counts)
- Possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000
- Theft over $5,000 (12)
- Theft of a vehicle (3)
- Theft under $5,000
- Theft under $5,000 from a vehicle
- Trafficking in stolen goods over $5,000 (3)
- Disguise with intent (20)
- Mischief under $5,000 (16)
- Failure to comply with a release order (11)
Ferenc Kiss, 28, of Brampton, was charged with:
- Break and enter (19 counts)
- Conspiracy to commit an indictable offence (20)
- Possession of break-in tools (19)
- Possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000
- Theft over $5,000 (11)
- Theft of a vehicle (3)
- Theft under $5,000
- Theft under $5,000 from a vehicle
- Trafficking in stolen goods over $5,000 (3)
- Possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000
- Disguise with intent (19)
- Mischief under $5,000 (16)
- Failure to comply with a release order (14)
Norbert Szeles, 20, of Toronto, was charged with:
- Break and enter (17 counts)
- Conspiracy to commit an indictable offence (17)
- Possession of break-in tools (15)
- Possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000
- Theft over $5,000 (9)
- Theft of a vehicle (3)
- Theft under $5,000
- Theft under $5,000 from a vehicle
- Trafficking in stolen goods over $5,000 (3)
- Possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000
- Disguise with intent (16)
- Mischief under $5,000 (13)
- Failure to comply with a release order (15)
