Prosecutors withdrew charges against two men accused in a carjacking case from 2022 involving Maple Leafs’ Mitch Marner

Charges against two men who were accused of an armed carjacking of Toronto Maple Leafs’ star forward Mitch Marner on the evening of May 16th, 2022, have been dropped. 

According to a report by the Toronto Star’s Mahdis Habibinia, the charges were withdrawn behind closed doors last fall. The incident involved Marner and his now-wife Stephanie LaChance, as the two were held at gunpoint outside of an Etobicoke movie theater as they entered their black Land Rover. 

It took nearly a full calendar year for the arrests to be made in March of 2023 of Christon Arman Johnson, 26, and Anas Adan Farah, 23, while the search for the third suspect connected with the crime is reportedly still ongoing. In the description of the situation from the police, three men in a black Honda Civic prevented Marner and LaChance from leaving before quickly getting out and approaching the couple with two handguns and a knife, demanding the keys to his Land Rover. 

The two men being prosecuted were being charged with robbery with a firearm and disguise with intent. The allegations were not met with any proven substance and both were released on bail. It’s understood that the case against Johnson and Farah later crumbled through court documents dated October 10th, 2023 when a Crown prosecutor told the court “there’s not a reasonable prospect of conviction,” ultimately leading to a withdrawal of charges.

After admitting it was “nice to have the closure” when arrests were first made in March of 2023, Marner told reporters after practice he was hopeful that he wouldn’t “have to talk about it anymore.” With the hope of putting the case behind him, he noted that “He was getting updates throughout but really not trying to follow it. Not trying to re-live that moment too many times, just trying to forget about it, get over it and just realize it’s an unlucky situation you’re part of and hopefully just a one-time thing.”

It’s undeniably unfortunate that charges were dropped in the case of the armed carjacking involving Marner. At the time, the incident stood out amidst a concerning surge in carjackings across the Greater Toronto Area, reflecting a broader trend of escalating auto thefts throughout the city. With this rise, Marner’s story made headlines and most importantly, a poignant call to action – emphasizing the importance of proactive safety measures to ensure public safety going forward.

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