Toronto police to give update on 2 Canadian soldiers facing 49 charges

Toronto police will hold an update Wednesday regarding an investigation centred around two Canadian Armed Forces members facing dozens of charges.

Chief Myron Demkiw and Supt. Joe Matthews are set to speak to reporters at 11 a.m. ET, just over a week after the arrests of Bombardiers Sachintha Fernando and James Moreau were announced.

Fernando, 22, and Moreau, 29, were arrested on Aug. 11 and face a total of 49 charges, including kidnapping for ransom, forcible confinement and use of a firearm during the commission of an indictable offence.

Fernando was also charged with multiple firearms-related offences, including unauthorized possession of a prohibited device, possession of property obtained by crime and careless storage of ammunition, a police spokesperson told Global News on Oct. 6.

Fernando and Moreau are members of the 7th Toronto Regiment, a spokesperson for the Department of National Defence told Global News last week.

Moreau enrolled in the Canadian Army as a reservist in March 2018 and Fernando enrolled in the Canadian Army as a reservist in January 2020, the spokesperson said.

Fernando has not been deployed on a CAF operation, whereas Moreau served on Operation LASER in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both soldiers were removed from military duties after their arrests, and their access to military equipment, facilities and bases was restricted, the defence spokesperson said.

They remain members of the military pending the outcome of an administrative review, a formal process used to assess matters that may affect a member’s continued service while providing procedural fairness.