MANDEL: Toronto carjacker only gets house arrest for theft of $1-million Ferrari
· Toronto Sun
He won’t even be gone for 60 seconds.
The score was an orange Ferrari valued at more than $1 million; the audacious crime was a knife-point carjacking in midtown Toronto.
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Three years later, one of the accused has been convicted of robbery — but instead of prison, Beaudon Petrohelos, 27, of Toronto, caught a break and has been sentenced to two years less a day of strict house arrest.
We’re not sure that sends the right message to deter the frightening scourge of carjackings that terrorize Toronto.
On Sept. 30, 2022, the victim and his brother had left a restaurant and were in his Ferrari F12 and heading to a friend’s home in the area of Bathurst St. and Eglinton Ave. when they were followed by people in a dark-coloured BMW.
The victim parked the Ferrari and when he got out, was confronted by two bandits who pulled a knife and demanded the keys.
“I could not find that Mr. Petrohelos used the knife, but he was present as part of the plan to rob the car,” Superior Court Justice Michael Dineen said.
He was either one of the two who demanded the keys, the judge said, or was waiting as the getaway car.
Luxury vehicle later recovered
The Ferrari was later recovered and Petrohelos’s arrest was announced in January 2023.
Court heard Petrohelos grew up with a father who became addicted to prescription drugs and eventually left the home. He was a promising hockey player until an injury led to the end of his dream, leaving him directionless; he dropped out of high school and fell in with a bad crowd. According to his mother, he’s now matured and is ashamed and angry with himself for his involvement in the robbery.
One of his co-accused was sentenced to five years for this robbery and other offences; a second received a nine-month conditional sentence. For Petrohelos, the Crown was seeking three years in prison while his lawyer argued for a conditional sentence of 18 months.
The judge said it was obvious this was a crime of planning and co-ordination — the robbers identified the expensive car and stalked it for hours. The victim told the court the carjacking was “totally traumatizing,” and that he continues to be fearful in his car and now avoids coming downtown.
“Carjacking is an extremely serious offence that causes the residents of the city to feel unsafe in public spaces,” Dineen said. “The public is entitled to feel that their security will be protected by the legal system. Denunciation and general deterrence are very important sentencing principles for this type of offence.”
But the judge said he had to take into account that Petrohelos was young, 23 at the time, had no criminal record and courts have advised judges to use “restraint” with youthful first offenders.
Crown’s proposal reasonable: Superior Court Justice Michael Dineen
Dineen acknowledged that a penitentiary sentence for this kind of crime “would normally be required” and the Crown’s proposal of a three-year term was reasonable.
In his favour, the judge continued, is that while he finds Petrohelos was involved in the planning of the carjacking and would have anticipated that violence would be used, he wasn’t convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that he was involved in the actual threat of violence against the Ferrari owner. The charges have also taken a long time to come to court, he added, and Petrohelos has spent years on strict bail.
“I conclude that a conditional sentence to the maximum duration of two years less a day with strict terms would not endanger the public and will be consistent with the principles of sentencing.”
Petrohelos was also ordered to perform 100 hours of community service and three years of probation.
Outside court, he maintained that he’d only smoked weed with his co-accused and wasn’t at the scene of the carjacking — though he did admit taking a turn driving the stolen Ferrari.
Those days are behind him, he says. Now he has two years on house arrest under the demanding supervision of his mother — “but better than jail” — and he’s planning to look for a job and put this behind him.
“Gotta change my life, you know?” Petrohelos said.
And is his taste for fast cars now gone?
“Yeah,” he laughed and walked away.