NEWS RELEASE
YORK REGIONAL POLICE
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Over the past week, 24 drivers were charged with impaired-related criminal driving offences and their vehicles removed from York Region roads.
On Friday, April 12, 2019, a concerned citizen called 9-1-1 to report a suspected impaired driver on Mount Albert Road, east of Leslie Street, in the Town of East Gwillimbury.
Officers stopped the vehicle in the area of Mount Albert Road and Colonel Wayling Boulevard. As officers spoke with the driver there was a strong smell of alcohol coming from her and police noticed that there was a one-year-old child in a car seat in the back of the vehicle.
The driver was placed under arrest for impaired driving and as the investigation continued, it was determined that her driver’s licence was under suspension from an impaired driving incident that occurred on Jan. 23, 2019.
The child was turned over to a family member, the Children’s Aid Society was notified and the driver was taken to #1 District Headquarters where she blew four times the legal limit for alcohol.
- Jian Zhang, 48, Town of Richmond Hill
- Xue Yu, 29, City of Toronto
- Ashif Haji, 49, Town of Richmond Hill
- Duncan Macfarlane, 65, Town of Aurora
- Sarah Cox, 22, Town of Aurora
- Shaoyi Rao, 28, City of Markham
- Alexander Hardy, 46, City of Markham
- Daniel Legris, 22, City of Markham
- Guang Yao, 38, City of Markham
- Alex Donut, 29, City of Toronto
- Female, 31, Town of East Gwillimbury
- Ida Kandiah, 51, City of Markham
- Ashvin Kannan, 38, City of Markham
- Brett Morehouse, 26, Town of Georgina
- Soroush Zarghom, 35, Town of East Gwillimbury
- Gurminder Singh, 37, Town of Ajax
- Jeffrey Day, 55, Township of Woolwich
- Jason King, 40, Town of Newmarket
- Edwin Margosian Gharghani, 44, Town of Richmond Hill
- Kristiffer Gardner, 41, Town of Georgina
- Leroy Manuel, 31, Town of Newmarket
- Sheila Samavarchian, 25, Town of Richmond Hill
- Raymond Ricci, 29, City of Vaughan
- Garrick Bishop-HewittI, 29, City of Toronto
York Regional Police thanks members of the community for helping us stop and arrest impaired drivers by calling 9-1-1. We consider these incidents a life-threatening crime in progress and will continue to respond to these calls. So far in 2019, more than 800 calls to 9-1-1 have helped to safely remove impaired drivers from our roads, which has led to more than 490 impaired-related criminal charges being laid.
The legal consequences of an impaired driving charge can include roadside vehicle impoundment and automatic driver’s licence suspension, as well as further consequences imposed by the courts, including longer licence suspensions, large fines and in some cases, jail time.
We are reminding drivers that York Regional Police conducts RIDE spot checks year round and that our officers are always watching for suspected impaired drivers. We also continue to encourage citizens to call 9-1-1 if you spot a suspected impaired driver. We’re not giving up.
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