Accused Hummer teen has criminal brothers

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This article was published 17/12/2009 (5766 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE 18-year-old man allegedly behind the wheel of a stolen Hummer that crashed into a car last week, killing the driver, comes from a dysfunctional crime family.

Both his older and younger brothers have been the subject of numerous arrests in recent years, mostly for car theft and related property crimes.

Justice sources say they may be the city’s second-busiest criminal clan, next to one involving several siblings and cousins who have racked up hundreds of criminal charges in recent years.

Now, police believe members of both families may have come together and played a role in the city’s latest tragic stolen-vehicle death.

The 18-year-old alleged driver is facing numerous charges, including breaching a court order not to have any contact with a 17-year-old member of the other family, who is now the object of an ongoing police search.

As the Free Press reported Wednesday, the man was previously linked to the March 2008 death of Winnipeg cab driver Antonio Lanzellotti.

He pleaded guilty in June 2008 to being one of seven youths inside a stolen Silverado that was racing a stolen SUV carrying seven other teens down Portage Avenue. The SUV ended up slamming into Lanzellotti’s cab, killing him and seriously injuring another occupant.

The accused, who was 16 at the time, was identified by police as the driver of the Silverado but only admitted in court to being an occupant of the vehicle, which peeled off down a side street moments before the fatal crash. He was given 72 days of time in custody, plus two years of supervised probation, which included a curfew and not being in a car without permission.

The accused was back in court this summer, charged with breaching conditions of his probation. Justice sources told the Free Press the boy "went off the deep end" following the sudden death of his grandfather. A judge sentenced him to another year of probation.

Winnipeg police have classified the accused as a Level 4 offender under the Winnipeg Auto Theft Suppression Strategy, which is the maximum designation available and means he is under frequent supervision by police. But he was not required to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet.

The Youth Criminal Justice Act does not permit media to publish the name of the accused if his prior criminal background as a young offender is reported.

www.mikeoncrime.com