For scammers, Canada is a promised land bursting with bucks and negligible penalties.
In recent years, criminals from across the planet have walked into the country and simply begun stealing everything that isn’t nailed down. If they are not stealing, there are other scams.
There are the truck-driving drug carriers and LCBO thieves,Latin American break-in gangs,Roma distraction thievesand Irish “traveller” scams of all sorts.
The great part is if you’re a foreign crook, cops, politicians, prosecutors, the Canada Border Services Agency and judges are seemingly terrified of being called racist that they will do nothing. It is a risk-free endeavour.
But the equation changes once the game is upped to manslaughter.
According to a bombshellCBC News reportand allegations in court documents, the three Irish “travellers” accused in the killing of beloved Owen Sound Curry House owner Sharif Rahman in August 2023 were allegedly in the country on a mission to steal. That allegedly included a meal at Rahman’s resto.
DINE AND DASH?
The exhaustive story provides a timeline of the killing and the accused’s trio’s escape from Canada. For the first time, photos of those said to be the accused were also published after CBC won access to Scottish court files. TheToronto Sunwas unable to independently verify the men’s identities.
Robert Evans Jr., 25, faces a charge of manslaughter, while his father Robert Busby Evans, 47, and his uncle Barry Evans, 54, are charged with being accessories after the fact.
Robert Jr. and Robert Sr. entered Canada as visitors in early June 2023 on U.K. passports. But, of course, the passports allegedly had fake names. Father and son entered Canada as Michael and Justin Jones, according to court documents. Neither had a work visa, according to the report.
PAVING SCAMS?
Instead, the Evanses allegedly scammed around Ontario using the old paving scheme as their financial funnel. The “traveller” community has employed the gimmick across Europe, Australia, the U.S. and Canada.
At some point in the summer of 2023, Barry joined father and son. On Aug. 17, 2023, fate interjected.
According to cops, Robert Jr. and another family member allegedly tried to dine-and-dash on their $150 tab at The Curry House. Rahman rightly took umbrage at the suspected rip-off and an argument ensued. Detectives believe that it was Robert Jr. who threw the fatal punch.
Rahman was found lying on the pavement outside his restaurant. He was severely injured and died in a hospital one week later. A witness said it sounded like a bowling ball dropping when the victim’s head hit the pavement.
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ALLEGED ESCAPE FROM CANADA
According to court documents, the suspects knew they were in trouble. Uncle Barry allegedly advised the kid to”run” and drove him to Collingwood. Robert Sr. wasn’t at The Curry House, but has been charged as an accessory for allegedly buying his son a plane ticket and getting him to Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.
CBC News reported that Robert Jr. flew into Heathrow airport in London the day after the attack. His uncle and another family member left the same night on a flight to Glasgow, Scotland.
The trio remain in custody in Scotland with an extradition hearing slated for Monday. But getting the wandering Evans family into a Canadian courtroom in front of a judge is not necessarily an easy undertaking. In fact, it could take months.
EXTRADITION
None of the accused have entered a plea. The charges against them have not been tested in court.
You can skate on an innumerable number of crimes in this country, but when violent death is involved it’s a totally different ball game.
If you are suspected of a violent crime, then you will get caught. And if you did it, then you will pay the price.
