A homeless man accused of stabbing a teenager to death in Toronto has a long criminal history, being arrested several times in the past year for violent assaults and thefts and has an outstanding warrant in Newfoundland since 2021.
Jordan O’Brien-Tobin, 22, was arrested shortly after the fatal stabbing of 16-year-old Gabriel Magalhaes at the Keele subway station in Toronto last Saturday in what Toronto police have claimed was a totally unprovoked attack. Media coverage has broadly described the attack as “random”, implying it was unforeseen and could not be prevented, although the facts do not seem to support such a hand-wave dismissal of law enforcement failures.
Indeed, court documents have revealed the extent of O’Brien-Tobin’s considerable criminal history, and the fact that the homeless 22-year-old has been charged multiple times over the past four years for various crimes and has had an outstanding arrest warrant in the province of Newfoundland since April 15th of 2021, broadcaster CBC reports.
A 16-year-old male died after being stabbed at a Toronto subway station, seemingly at random, in what is just the latest act of unexplained violence in Toronto in recent months. https://t.co/ZFSYVLzf2V
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) March 28, 2023
Documents from Newfoundland, Canada’s most eastern province, reveal that O’Brien-Tobin was subject to short prison terms in 2019 and 2020, all fewer than 30 days. The prison terms were related to a number of low-level crimes including petty thefts, fraud, mischief, arson and threats.
Last year, O’Brien-Tobin was convicted of several more offences in Ontario, including reading guilty to stealing from a gas station in March, pleading guilty to an assault that took place in April of 2021 and being found guilty of assault and uttering threats in April for which he was sentenced to just 36 days in jail and given 12 months of probation in August.
According to broadcaster Global News, O’Brien-Tobin is also suspected of having mental health issues and his listed residence was operated by the Canadian Mental Health Association.
The broadcaster also notes that in July of 2022, O’Brien-Tobin was arrested over an assault involving a box cutter and was charged with assault with a weapon and banned from possessing weapons. After being found guilty of assault he was sentenced to 150 days in prison and an 18-month probation period.
A detective allegedly close to the investigation commented to the Toronto Sun newspaper stating, “this is a full-on justice system failure,” and added, “He’s currently out on numerous releases. Probation, prohibited, bail … name it, he’s been released on it.”
“This is a combination of drugs and mental illness issues, all these releases,” the police source said noting, “But why, why in God’s name was he out on the streets?”
Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.
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