[fiendishlibrarian]

The Post is reporting that three of the four arrested are American, one of whom is wanted in California (I think) for an outstanding bench warrant.

A big "heckuva job" to our border officers for letting them in.

 

[unimaginative2]

Here's the article fiendish is referring to. It sounds like the victim chose to pick a fight, not that it excuses what happened.

------------------------------------------------------------------------



Begging argument 'escalated' in stabbing
'Nothing Is Being Done,' Queen St. Merchant Says

Natalie Alcoba And Matthew Coutts
National Post


Tuesday, August 14, 2007


TORONTO - Four young drifters -- three Americans and one from the Prairies -- remain in custody and will likely face murder charges after a melee last week involving a group of panhandlers that left a St. Catharines man dead.

Ross Hammond was walking with a friend along a stretch of Queen Street West near Niagara Street -- which has reportedly been tormented by aggressive beggars -- early on Thursday when a woman asked the two for money. They refused, police said, and then became drawn into a "heated exchange" with the woman and three of her panhandling friends.

"I don't think there's any way to sugar-coat it. I think the family of the deceased will know that there was an exchange and it wasn't just, 'No,' " said Detective Sergeant Gary Giroux, the Toronto homicide investigator in charge of the case. "It was something more than that.

"You know, [panhandlers] take offence to these things being said to them and it escalates. The panhandlers say things back and people take offence to that, and that's how these things happen."

Mr. Hammond, 32, was stabbed repeatedly and died in hospital. His friend and at least one of the panhandlers received minor injuries. Douglas Fresh, 22, Sarah McDermit, 22, and Jeremy Woolley, all American citizens, remain charged with aggravated assault, along with Canadian Nicole Kish, 21. Mr. Woolley is wanted in California for failing to appear in court.

Merchants said yesterday they saw the escalation of violence coming.

They say they have been complaining about "bully" panhandlers for some time, but the city has failed to take definitive action to curb the growing problem.

Katie Matthews, owner of MissBehav'n, and her husband were attacked by a group of street kids armed with a beer bottle and a shovel about a month ago behind her store.

"If you tell a panhandler to step aside and let your customers into your store, they will threaten to break your windows, attack you, harass your customers," said Doc Von Lichtenberg, owner of Doc's Leathers. "Most merchants are scared out of their minds to ask someone to move along and stop blocking their door."

Toronto city councillor Michael Thompson, who himself was attacked by a beggar near City Hall last year, says the city has "essentially done nothing" to address the problem.

"We've given the impression that it's okay to continue doing it and so now the panhandlers have stepped up and charted their territories and have been very aggressive."

There are no bylaws in Toronto banning or regulating panhandling. The issue is covered under a provincial law called the Safe Streets Act, passed in 1999, which prohibits panhandlers from using abusive language, becoming violent, obstructing a pedestrian or requesting money while intoxicated. The city has responded to neighbourhood complaints by conducting a survey of "passive panhandlers."

A staff of nine city employees are surveying panhandlers in the area bounded by Spadina Avenue, Yorkville Avenue, Jarvis Street and Queens Quay, between July and the end of September.

The nine-page questionnaire touches on living conditions, income, and each person's reasons for panhandling. Surveyors are also asked to take note of each person's cleanliness and disruptiveness to traffic and pedestrians.

Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone, councillor for Trinity-Spadina, believes existing laws that enforce proper conduct in public should be enough to curb the actions of aggressive panhandlers.

But some merchants maintain the problem appears to be getting worse, possibly on account of a "new breed of panhandlers" that have taken to the street.

"There was a time when panhandlers were homeless people who were asking for change. Now it's able-bodied young people who refuse to join the status quo and would rather bully you for change," said Marcus McLean, project co-ordinator for the West Queen West Business Improvement Area, which is working with social service agencies such as St. Christopher House, police and Mr. Pantalone to address the issue.

The issue of panhandlers dominated a BIA meeting last week, in which the group discussed long-term initiatives such as cleaning up laneways and lighting dark alleys.

MissBehav'n's Ms. Matthews resigned from the BIA when the association failed to commit to hiring private security guards to clean up the strip.

"Nothing is being done, no one is taking this seriously" said Ms. Matthews, who last year tried to rally residents and business with a letter titled "Have you had enough?" A boisterous meeting failed to produce tangible solutions, she said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Hammond's family is struggling to come to terms with what happened on Queen Street West.

Det. Sgt. Giroux said Mr. Hammond's wife, Kara, is in disbelief "based on the fact that [her husband] went out with a friend and never came home." The family referred questions to their Toronto lawyer, Gerald Yasskin.

"At this point, all I will say is that the family would like a little space to deal with the tragedy. There's a funeral coming up. There's a lot of things to be dealt with," Mr. Yasskin said.

"Possibly next week we'll be in a position to make a statement or answer questions, but at this point I think the family just needs time to get over the shock and grief."

© National Post 2007

 

[Hydrogen]

One theme running through this thread is the confusion between panhandling with homelessness. Panhandling may be a symptom of homelessness, but the two may not always be linked. There area fair number of homeless people who do not panhandle. There are a number of people who are homeless due to mental illness of due to addiction problems. Others are homeless due to family problems, or poverty. There are also individuals who apear to have personality "disorders" that keep them on the streets. In short, there is a wide array of reasons as to why a person is homeless.

Panhandlers can include all the above. This group also includes individuals who see panhandling as an easy means to make money, an act that has become acceptable among some people. But this does not relate directly to all issues of homelessness.

One could assume that out of the myriad of ways to address the issue is to simply lump everyone together and demonize them all. Calling people "riff-raff," or accusing all of them as being aggressive gets around the problem of trying to distinguish what the sources of the problem is. And no, I am not expecting that everyone try to figure out what the specific issue is behind every panhandler they encounter; its just that easy, one-shot solutions are rarely ever "solutions." Typically, they tend to look reactionary in the end.

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

BEEZ, if we get rid of the homeless, what will scare the shit out of everyone else to be more productive & work harder?


on a serious note:

i have no problem with the homeless or panhandling. what i do have a problem with is crack heads walking up to people as they enter and leave a bank (i'm talking all the time), asking for money. it creates a very uneasy feeling.

also, i give a thumbs up to the homeless that go around cleaning up the streets.
those guys are industrious and deserving of hourly wages.

 

[Tewder]

One theme running through this thread is the confusion between panhandling with homelessness. Panhandling may be a symptom of homelessness, but the two may not always be linked. There area fair number of homeless people who do not panhandle. There are a number of people who are homeless due to mental illness of due to addiction problems. Others are homeless due to family problems, or poverty. There are also individuals who apear to have personality "disorders" that keep them on the streets. In short, there is a wide array of reasons as to why a person is homeless.

I agree with this completely. The 'homeless' need assistance, no matter how resistant they may be and for whatever reasons, i.e. mental health, substance abuse etc. Abandoning them to the streets, and then claiming that it is their right to be there is such a transparant way of avoiding doing anything about them, and I find it to be so unbelievably heartless. Here's a thought: how about our noble civil 'servants' at City Hall cancelling their pay hike and donating the money to improve shelters and services instead?

 

[Tewder]

Let me tell you what is reactionary instead - looking at one isolated violent incident and categorically lumping every issue in relation to homelessness and saying that it is "the problem", then proclaming that the issue can be dealt with by snapping one's finger.

Again, many of us here are making a distinction between homelessness and panhandling. That said, if you think this is one isolated incident then I'd like to know where you are hanging out! We're not just talking about 'murder', we're also talking about intimidation, threats, harassment, aggression. In short it is an issue of people feeling safe in the streets, and business owners being able to earn their living. The murder incident in question is simply the dramatic and tragic event that finally got people talking about the fact that we have a problem, one that has actually resulted in death now. I don't find this to be reactionary.

So yes, nobody has the "right" to live on the street - in the meantime, what is one going to do about it? .

I agree AoD, this is the question that does need to be addressed. Shipping people off to concentration camps is not the answer, nor is allowing people to squat, beg, intimidate and make the streets their home. That said, the time is now for coucil to get its head out of its ass and stop worrying about their pay hikes and getting elected again, and actually start serving the public they were elected to serve.

 

[beaconer]

Toronto Star-Queen West an area in decline


Katie Matthews, owner of MissBehav’N on Queen St. W., recently resigned from her local BIA group in frustration over security and clean-up concerns.

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Residents and shopkeepers have been calling on politicians and police to clean up Queen St. W. for months, warnings that have proven prescient since the stabbing death of Ross Hammond.

Aggressive panhandling and criminal activity have become so bad between Bathurst St. and Gladstone Ave. that 40 neighbours formed the Queen Street West Residents Association in July. "We got together one month ago to talk with the police and the city councillor and tell them that things were getting pretty scary down here," said Kathi Prosser, the group's founder.

Squeegee kids now travel in packs and drug deals have become brazen, she said.

"If people are dealing drugs (in broad daylight) then there's no fear of reprisal," Prosser said, adding that her home has been broken into four times this summer. "The fact that things escalated into murder isn't surprising."

Hammond, 32, was stabbed on Queen St. W. last week and died two days later. The St. Catharines man got into a fight with panhandlers after refusing to give them money.

The day before Hammond's death, Katie Matthews, who owns MissBehav'N, an erotic shop, quit the West Queen West Business Improvement Area in disgust.

On Queen St. W., police don't come when called and politicians ignore the neighbourhood's plight, Matthews said. After a year of campaigning the BIA to clean up the street and hire private security, she gave up.

"It's been very rapidly declining," she said. "On June 30, me and my husband were assaulted by a group of squeegee kids who wouldn't get off the roof. They came after us with shovels and beer bottles."

A Queen St. W. safety audit released by the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas cited graffiti on storefronts, assaults on business owners, break-ins, vagrants sleeping on doorsteps and open drug and alcohol abuse.

"The laneways we examined were `no-go' areas, completely taken over by vandalism and evidence of drinking, drug use and other inappropriate activities. Business owners who rely on access to their establishments through the rear laneway face potential risk any time they open their back door," the report said.

The association also places the blame on four nearby social service agencies, including St. Christopher House. Patrons acted aggressively and harassed passersby.

Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone, who represents the area, said one shouldn't let the complaints of a few residents give a skewed perspective of the street, which has the highest concentration of art galleries and artists in the city.

"It's one of the safest neighbourhoods in the city of Toronto. It is now and is continuing to be."

The street has problems, but addressing them takes time, Pantalone said, adding the safety audit is "just an opinion of some people."

Area police say the neighbourhood has a lot of vehicle and pedestrian traffic.

"The police are doing the best they can with the numbers they have in that area," said Sgt. Ozzy Veit. He wouldn't comment as to whether crime at Queen and Bathurst had become worse. "I don't have those statistics available," he said.

The residents' association's Prosser said people who are complaining aren't new to the neighbourhood. Many have lived on the street for more than a decade. "There's never been a summer as bad as this," she said.

 

[Bogtrotter]

...and they want to open up a homeless shelter around the club district Drunken mouthy kids crowding out of the clubs and aggressive mouthy panhandlers- great decision.

 

[unimaginative2]

So much for Canada's "Revolving Door" prisons and the States being so much better. Actually... I'm confused. Doesn't California have a ridiculous three-strikes law? Shouldn't she be in jail for life?
______________________________________________________________


Accused panhandler has lengthy U.S. record
OMAR EL AKKAD AND TIMOTHY APPLEBY

August 15, 2007

The strange case of a confrontation between two men and four panhandlers that ended in a fatal stabbing on a downtown street last week took another twist yesterday, as The Globe and Mail learned that two of those involved in the deadly melee include a young California woman with an extensive police record and a Mississauga man who helps promote pornographic websites.

Four panhandlers - two women and two men in their early 20s - have been charged with aggravated assault in connection with the death of St. Catharines resident Ross Hammond. The two women appeared in court yesterday for the first time, at which point it was revealed that one of the accused, 22-year-old Sarah McDermit, is actually named Faith Watts.

Police in Santa Cruz, Calif., know Ms. Watts well. Her prolific criminal record, which dates back to 2000, includes more than a dozen convictions, from drug possession to theft to fighting with a police officer. Ms. Watts did not spend any significant time in jail and, less than a year after Santa Cruz police lost touch with her in October, 2006, she ended up north of the border.

It now appears that three of the four accused came to Toronto from the U.S. The fourth, Nicole Kish, is identified as a Toronto resident.

The two men charged in the case are scheduled to make their court appearances today.

Mr. Hammond, 32, was not alone when he was stabbed to death - he was walking with a friend named George Dranichak. Mr. Dranichak's role in the confrontation - indeed, until recently, his very identity - has not been previously reported.

According to online records, Mr. Dranichak works for Guerilla Traffic, a firm that markets adult websites. Reached yesterday through the number listed on the Guerilla Traffic website, Mr. Dranichak was reluctant to talk.

"I'm working very closely with the police and I'm not really allowed to talk about the case in any way," he said. "I lost a very, very close friend and I need time to mourn. I can't give out anything else; there's an ongoing investigation and I'm a part of it.... I'm sorry, that's all I can say."

According to a preliminary police report, the physical altercation began when Ms. Watts slammed her bicycle into Mr. Dranichak's knee. In the ensuing fight, Mr. Hammond was stabbed eight times. The police report does not make specific allegations about who stabbed Mr. Hammond or about the source of apparent knife wounds suffered by at least one of the panhandlers.

Lawyers for the two women charged appeared in court yesterday expecting the charges against their clients to be upgraded to murder. That did not happen, and it is now unclear when or even if the charges will be upgraded.

Eric Lewis, the lawyer representing Ms. Watts, described the police synopsis of the case as vague. He added that his client comes from "a good, hard-working family in California."

According to Santa Cruz police spokesman Zach Friend, Ms. Watts is well known to police in the city. A transient, Ms. Watts's criminal record is not only lengthy, but often includes multiple crimes committed within a few weeks of one another. In one case, she was arrested for theft, then for being drunk in public a month later, then for possession of narcotics a little more than a week after that.

"This may appear to be a significant amount of crime, but for [Santa Cruz police] to see this is not surprising to us," said Mr. Friend, pointing out that a group of transients, most well known to police, usually hangs out around the city's downtown area.

However, despite her record, Ms. Watts does not appear to have spent any significant time in jail. Mr. Friend said there was a period of time a few years ago where there was no contact between her and police, but he added that it's more than likely that's because she simply left town.

Toronto police Chief Bill Blair told CP24 yesterday that it's not unusual during the summer months for police to come across troublesome panhandlers from out of town.

"We have people come in from right across the country, and in this case, even from the United States, come into Toronto. They're not coming in here for any good purpose. They're coming in here to cause all sorts of trouble. They're a real challenge for the downtown neighbourhoods."

Superintendent Hugh Ferguson of Toronto's 52 Division said in the 20 years he has worked in the downtown area, he doesn't recall a panhandling incident escalating to a homicide.

Panhandling law

Begging per se is not illegal in Toronto. However, a 1999 provincial statute, the Safe Streets Act, bars panhandlers from being abusive, aggressive or violent. Also outlawed is demanding money while intoxicated or obstructing the sidewalk. Areas where people gather, such as a transit stop or a bank machine, are also off limits.

Last year, Toronto police issued more than 900 tickets - at $65 each - to beggars who were deemed too aggressive. That compares with about 560 in 2005.

"It would be nice if [the Safe Streets Act] had more teeth, but it's a heck of a lot more than we had before they brought it in, it gives us a tool we can use," said Superintendent Hugh Ferguson of 52 Division. "But the ability to pay the ticket always enters into it ... you can't get money out of someone who doesn't have the ability to pay."

Superintendent Ruth White of 14 Division, where last week's stabbing occurred, said officers see many familiar faces when dealing with panhandlers.

"I don't know if there's more, but there's more panhandlers and less squeegee kids - now they are asking for money but no longer providing a service," Supt. White said. "And when someone asks you straight out for money, there is a different fear attached ... [People wonder] 'what happens if I don't give you money?'..." Staff

 

[Admiral Beez]

"If people are dealing drugs (in broad daylight) then there's no fear of reprisal," Prosser said, adding that her home has been broken into four times this summer. "The fact that things escalated into murder isn't surprising."

On Queen St. W., police don't come when called and politicians ignore the neighbourhood's plight, Matthews said. After a year of campaigning the BIA to clean up the street and hire private security, she gave up.

""The police are doing the best they can with the numbers they have in that area," said Sgt. Ozzy Veit. He wouldn't comment as to whether crime at Queen and Bathurst had become worse. "I don't have those statistics available," he said.

Meanwhile, the Police tell the community this...

When approached by panhandlers, the public shouldn't make eye contact and continue walking past them, Sgt. Burrows said..

...perhaps the Police are doing the same.

 

[JasonParis]

I really don't understand how you can blame Miller for seeing homeless people around. New York still has its homeless, even after Saint Rudy rode through town.

They are all in Brooklyn, Queen's and The Bronx though. The problem was just moved, not solved.

So you're giving him a free pass on this one then? There's nothing he can do so we should just ignore the problem? Well there's a family grieving this morning who would probably beg to differ.

Not a free pass, but a realistic pas. In fact, Mayor Miller has done more to get rid of the visible homelesness at Nathan Phillips Square than any other recent mayor. In fact, some on the left were criticizing him big-time about his harder stance on homlesness.

IMHO, the rest of us regular middle and mid-upper class working city folk do not or can not live in harmony with the riff-raff, especially the street populations of addicts, mentally ill, beggars and homeless. We want them off the streets, and like the Bobby of my childhood, we don't care where they go, provided they're gone.

Urban Toronto most idiotic quote of the year that I've yet come across.

if you get attacked by a homeless man, would you still be as quick to defend them???

I got attacked by a homeless woman once. I gave her her my spare change (circa 1999) and she then proceeded to attack me and throw the change at my head which caused some minor scrapes. Apparently she was unhappy with the amount I gave her. She then followed me down the street screaming at me constantly and some guy who witnessed her screaming came after me as he figured I had hurt her in some way. He nearly took a swat at me too, but I eventually convinced him that I did nothing but gave the woman some change.

Needeless to say, I've never given a homeless person money since. However, I'm not for a moment going to say that this complex problem can be solved by a "street sweep" or any other "just get them out of my face" solution.

Residents and shopkeepers have been calling on politicians and police to clean up Queen St. W. for months, warnings that have proven prescient since the stabbing death of Ross Hammond.

I lived at Queen & Niagara for five years and I'd honestly say it is better now that it has been since the late 1990s. Still the area has more than its fair share of problems which need addressed, but I hardly think its getting worse.

 

[unimaginative2]

I completely agree with everything you've said, Darkstar. In fact, I think that homelessness is one of Miller's biggest and most unsung successes. As a downtown resident, I've noticed an extremely significant drop in the number of homeless and panhandlers since 2003. Of course, the suburbanites who read this story in the newspaper won't understand that, and will assume that Toronto is just going to hell in a handbasket along with the rampant murders (despite the declining rates).

 

[scarberiankhatru]

I've seen the number of homeless people/beggars increase in the suburbs...the total number is still small, but it has gone from none to some.

 

[rp07]

Personally, I haven't been verbally or physically abused by either panhandlers or the homeless. I have on occasion given money to them and was most of the time greeted with a smile or thank yous. But I do agree that some of them especially those with squeegees are aggressive. Even when told by the drivers not to clean the windshield they do it anyway thinking that they will get some change and if not given they start yelling at the drivers. So what's the solution? Arrest them all. I don't think you can totally eliminate pan handlers, squeegee kids.

 

[Admiral Beez]

I have on occasion given money to them and was most of the time greeted with a smile or thank yous..

No offence, but that makes you part of the problem. Panhandling, much like seagulls at a city park or bears at a campsite, depend on supply and demand. As long as there's the slightess chance that someone, anyone, will provide the reward needed to justify the act, the act will continue, be it seagulls divebombing city dwellers on their lunch break, bears attacking campers or panhandlers begging. Don't feed the beast, and it will go away on its own.

If you want to truly help folks, give money to the United Way or another charity that helps homeless folks.