durhamregion.com This Week | Thursday, April 14, 2022 | 12 A 43-year-old man is facing charges after a suspect tried to defraud a bank in Durham Region. And, Durham Regional Police are investigating to see if there are other victims. On Friday, March 25, a suspect went to a bank on Victoria Street in Whitby and tried to open an account using fraudulent identification, police said. Officers were called to the bank and the suspect was arrested. An investigation turned up that the same suspect was involved in a similar incident on March 22 at a bank on Brock Road in Pickering, police said. Police are releasing the suspects picture as they believe he may have attended other banks in Durham Region, committing the same criminal offences. Adebowale Onapajo has been charged with two counts each of attempted fraud under $5,000, unlawfully possession of a counterfeit mark, possession of an identification document of another person and failing to comply with release order. He was held for a bail hearing. Anyone with any new information is asked to contact Det. Chapman of the Financial Crimes Unit at 1-888-579-1520, ext. 5352. Anonymous information can be sent to Durham Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.durhamregionalcrimestoppers.ca. POLICE BELIEVE OTHER DURHAM BANKS TARGETED IN FRAUD CRIME Adebowale Onapajo, 43, is facing eight charges after a suspect was arrested for attempting to defraud a Whitby bank. Durham Regional Police believe other banks in the region may have been targeted by the same suspect. DRPS photo An investigation sparked by reports that a man had threatened to shoot people in two separate incidents has led to the arrests of a man and a woman and seizure of a loaded gun, according to police. The first incident occurred around 2:30 a.m. Sunday, April 3 when officers responded to a gas station on Simcoe Street North in Oshawa, where a suspect had threatened to shoot an employee, Durham police said. The male suspect fled with a woman prior to police arriving. A short time later police responded to the Holiday Inn on Consumers Drive in Whitby for a report a suspect had assaulted and threatened to shoot an employee, police said. Officers located two suspects at a Motel 6 in the area. During the arrests a loaded gun was seized, police said. Adil Hosannah, 30, of Marjoram Drive, Ajax, faces multiple weapons charges as well as assault, uttering threats and mischief. Tishante Johnson Whittaker, 29, of Aquatic Ballet Path in Oshawa, is charged with weapons offences. TWO CHARGED AS GUN SEIZED FOLLOWING REPORTS OF THREATS The province's appeal court has upheld the conviction of a Durham Region man on sexual assault charges, rejecting an argument that a trial judge failed to adequately address outbursts a young victim made in front of a jury. Superior Court judge Stephen Bale ruled against a defence motion for a mistrial, but properly instructed jurors that they shouldn't consider the victim's comments -- including calling the accused man a "creep" and a "rapist" -- as evidence the accused man was more likely to be guilty of the charges against him, a recently released ruling by the Ontario Court of Appeal concludes. Bale's instruction to the jury "was adequate in the circumstances," the ruling says. "It addressed both the risks of undue reliance on a witness' demeanour and propensity reasoning, which is where the mischief lay." The developments occurred during a trial in Oshawa in 2019. The defendant, who was not identified in the ruling, was accused of having sexual contact with a victim when she was under 16, allegations he denied at trial. He was convicted of sexual assault, sexual exploitation and sexual interference. The victim testified at trial and lost her composure during cross examination, shouting at a defence lawyer that the accused was a "f---ing creep" and a "rapist," according to the ruling. Immediately after the outburst, the judge excused the jury and consulted with lawyers, at which point the defence called for a mistrial. Bale ruled against that request, but did recall jurors and address the outbursts. Bale warned jurors not to jump to any conclusions about the accused man's guilt based on the young woman's comments. In appealing the conviction, lawyers for the accused man claimed Bale's address was insufficient. The defence advanced other grounds of appeal, including objections to some evidence entered at trial. The appeal court found, however, that Bale handled the witness outburst properly, and rejected other grounds of appeal. "The sufficiency of this instruction addresses the appellant's argument that the jury should have been told to disregard the outbursts entirely. In other words, while it was open to the trial judge to provide a stronger instruction, the failure to do so, in the circumstances of this case, was not an error," the ruling says. "There was no reason to believe that the jury would have ignored instructions on the law on account of the outbursts." The appeal court also dismissed a defence motion to introduce fresh evidence. APPEAL COURT UPHOLDS DURHAM MAN'S SEX ASSAULT CONVICTION JEFF MITCHELL jmitchell@durhamregion.com NEWS "There was no reason to believe that the jury would have ignored instructions on the law on account of the outbursts." - Superior Court judge Stephen Bale A Durham police officer who posted a controversial video praising protesters who conducted a lengthy occupation of Ottawa has been charged with offences including discreditable conduct. Constable Erin Howard gained notoriety with the video, which was posted in advance of the so-called "Freedom Convoy" that converged on the national capitol at the end of February. The protest, promoted as a demonstration against COVID-19 and vaccination measures, morphed into an illegal three- week siege that was cleared after the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act. In the video, Howard spoke into a camera while dressed in her uniform, offering a "shout out" to convoy participants. "I think what you guys are doing is incredible. You're fighting for our rights and freedoms," Howard said in the video. "Right now, it feels we're a little bit at war and those rights and freedoms are at stake." An investigation into the video was conducted by Durham police. Howard is now charged under the Police Services Act with two counts each of discreditable conduct, insubordination, and breach of confidence. A police spokesperson said the service would offer no further comment. A first appearance for Howard is scheduled for May 5. DURHAM POLICE OFFICER WHO PRAISED 'FREEDOM CONVOY' NOW FACING CHARGES JEFF MITCHELL jmitchell@durhamregion.com "I think what you guys are doing is incredible. You're fighting for our rights and freedoms." - Constable Erin Howard