Hamilton man charged with arson after fire in Markham

An 18-year-old Hamilton man and three teens have been charged with arson after a fire damaged 16 vehicles in Markham earlier this year.

York police say during the early morning hours of Jan. 27 an accelerant was used to fuel the flames, causing $300,000 in damage.

Officers say a suspect vehicle related to the fire was stolen from the area of Midland Avenue and Lawrence Avenue East in Toronto.

Muhammad Hassan Choudhry, 18, of Hamilton, and a Toronto boy have been charged with arson and theft-related offences. A teenage girl was also charged with possession of property obtained by crime.

READ MORE: Hamilton man charged with arson after fire at Good Shepherd’s Mathias Place

During the arrest, officers found one of the teens concealing a weapon. The teenage boy was charged with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

An electric device used to commit motor vehicle theft was recovered as a result of two search warrants in Toronto and Hamilton.

At the time of the offence, 18-year-old Muhammad Choudhry was on probation, as well as conditions of judicial release orders and undertakings for unrelated offences.

Anyone with information is asked to call the #2 District Criminal Investigations Bureau 1-866-876-5423, ext. 7241.