Man allegedly tied to GTA gun-for-hire network charged in Niagara bank robberies

Police have charged an 18-year-old man in two attempted bank robberies in the Niagara region this year. And that same person is allegedly involved in a “gun-for-hire” network suspected to be responsible for several shootings across the GTA.

Niagara police have charged 18-year-old Jayon Bergher, along with a 22-year-old and a 17-year-old, for the attempted robberies.

One was in Wainfleet on March 4, and the other in Pelham on March 11.

Niagara police say the suspects’ identities were concealed in both instances, and security measures stopped them from getting into the banks.

Authorities confirmed that Bergher is also facing multiple charges in Toronto and the Halton Region in connection with two shootings.

Toronto police allege Bergher was one of two suspects who shot at a business in the area of Islington Avenue and Lake Shore Boulevard West on March 26.

No one was injured in that shooting, and it was actually the business next door that was the intended target.

READ MORE: One man in hospital following targeted shooting in Oakville

Then just three days later, there was a shooting at a residence near Lakeshore Road and Fourth Line in Oakville.

One person sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Halton police charged Bergher for that shooting about a month later.

Toronto police are alleging Bergher, along with other suspects in multiple shootings in the GTA, may be tied to a gun-for-hire network.

One criminal defence lawyer says if a suspect is found to have been hired for crimes, it could be both helpful or damaging in their defence.

“It’s difficult to say and it’s fact dependent,” said Sonya Shikhman, partner at Shikhman Criminal Law Firm. “There are possibilities of much lengthier sentences when there’s a cold, calculated decision to act as a tool of violence … the flip side of it, because every criminal law situation has two sides to it. While it can be very aggravating on the one hand, if the person can demonstrate that having — they just got caught up with a group that they could not leave, and so all the actions were — it’s even more concerning and can provide a defensive duress or can also be a rehabilitating factor and a mitigating factor.”

CHCH News has asked Niagara police if they believe the suspects in the attempted bank robberies may have been hired to do so. They said they are not aware of any connections between Toronto police’s investigation and theirs.

None of the allegations have been tested in court.

WATCH MORE: Toronto police say ‘gun-for-hire’ networks responsible for July shooting at U.S. consulate