A Gravenhurst man was in court recently to plead guilty to a litany of offences.
Appearing in the Bracebridge courthouse on Tuesday Brandon Tonna, 34, pled guilty to stealing two vehicles on two separate occasions in Gravenhurst, stealing trailers worth more than $40,000 from Barrie, Innisfil and Gravenhurst, running from the police, illegal possession of firearms, impaired driving and a range of other offences.
Court heard that on several occasions between December 2022 and March 2023, the OPP was contacted regarding stolen trailers. In all of the instances, a car belonging to Tonna’s father (later identified through the use of security camera footage) was seen pulling up to the trailers before driving away with them.
Then in March 19, 2023, the Bracebridge OPP received a call regarding a stolen snowplow in Gravenhurst. A short while later they received a second call regarding a possible impaired driver in that same snowplow on Hwy #11. Court heard Tonna had taken the vehicle through the drive-thru of a restaurant where an employee became suspicious that he was impaired.
The police caught up with Tonna in an adjacent gas station parking lot but when the officer exited his cruiser and approached the snowplow, the truck reversed towards him, court heard. The officer attempted to extract Tonna from the truck but Tonna then placed the truck in drive. He struck another vehicle before entering Hwy 11 and fleeing the scene. Tonna was later spotted exiting the same vehicle in Gravenhurst and was arrested. He was suspected of impaired driving but refused a blood sample. He was also under multiple driving restrictions at the time of the incident.
On April 1, 2023, police were called to a separate vehicle theft from a gas station on Hwy 11. In this instance, court heard Tonna had stolen the car but it had become stuck in the snow some distance away. Court heard Tonna then took his father’s car without consent and went to where the stolen car was located but accidentally crashed his father’s car into the stolen car. At some point his father’s car ran out of gas, so Tonna broke into a nearby garage and stole a gas can, court heard. He was later captured on security footage with the gas can at a nearby gas station.
A search warrant was issued for Tonna’s residence, and a number of guns were found inside. Tonna had no license, the guns were improperly stored and one had the serial number removed.
Tonna was sentenced to 12 months custody, 18 months probation a 12-month driving ban and to pay back $9,000 in restitution.
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