THUNDER BAY — A man who agreed to drive three people from Thunder Bay to Toronto for cash not only got shortchanged but found himself in a frightening situation at the end of the trip.
The incident happened in October 2020, but details only recently came to light after the conclusion of a court case.
The complainant responded to an advertisement on Kijiiji seeking a driver in Thunder Bay.
He struck a deal with the person who posted the ad to take several men to Toronto for $1,500, and initially received $1,100 with a promise that the balance would be paid on arrival.
In Sault Ste. Marie, where the travellers stopped at a motel for the night, the complainant wound up paying the $250 bill himself, with the expectation he would be reimbursed.
The next afternoon, when the parties arrived at a Toronto Community Housing complex, one of the passengers exited and said he was going inside the building to get the rest of the money, while the other two remained in the vehicle.
After 15 minutes passed with no sign of the man who had left, the others told the driver to proceed to another address where he would be paid.
He refused, and an argument ensued.
As the verbal altercation went on, a stranger came out of the building, exposed what appeared to be a gun tucked into his waistband, and told the driver "Use your head, if I give it to him, he will finish you."
By 'he,' the man was referring to one of the remaining passengers.
He then returned inside the building, after which the passenger walked around the vehicle and tried to open the driver's side door.
In a panic, the complainant fled the scene, driving over curbs in the process, and calling 911 to report he was being chased by two men.
Police quickly obtained surveillance video to verify his story, then got a search warrant and forced their way into an apartment where they found a handgun loaded with 10 bullets.
The person identified in the video as being the individual who came out to speak to the complainant was charged with possession of a prohibited firearm.
The 22-year-old, a first offender, entered a guilty plea in court earlier this year and received a conditional sentence of two years less one day to be served in the community.
He was also given a lifetime prohibition from owning a weapon.
