Man, teen accused in York Region rock-throwing incidents facing more charges

York Regional Police Const. Kevin Nebrija discusses the additional charges laid against two suspects accused of throwing rocks at moving vehicles.

An 18-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy accused of throwing rocks at moving vehicles in York Region over the past few months are facing dozens of additional charges.

On Wednesday, York Regional Police (YRP) provided an update on their investigation into the incidents in Markham and Whitchurch-Stouffville, which date back to July.

The two suspects were arrested last week, with the man being charged with two counts of mischief under $5,000 and the teen with one count of mischief under $5,000.

The man is now facing an additional 13 counts of mischief under $5,000, while the teen has been charged with assault with a weapon and 18 more counts of mischief under $5,000.

Police said some of the new charges were in relation to incidents that occurred on Jan. 26.

YRP told CP24 last week that the suspects were not related, but knew each other.

Police noted they were investigating a total of 29 incidents, including rocks being thrown at residences.

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are also investigate several similar incidents, most of which occurred on Highway 48 near Major Mackenzie Drive.

One of those incidents resulted in a serious collision that left two people with life-threatening injuries. In December, a GO bus carrying passengers was also hit by a rock, damaging its windshield.

OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt told CP24 that they were aware of the charges in the YRP investigation.

“We are continuing to investigate the rock-throwing incidents on provincial highways. We have not connected the accused from the York case to any of the OPP investigations at this time,” Schmidt said in an email to CP24 on Wednesday.