Charges laid after London, Ont. girl's missing wheelchair found 'unrepairable'
A day after the mother of a special needs girl put out a call for the return of her daughter's wheelchair it has been found, damaged beyond repair.
Caren Fair, the mother of nine-year-old Aaliyah Faulknor, pleaded for the return of her wheelchair, which had been taken from the front porch of the family's home on Connaught Avenue early Tuesday morning.
‘I couldn’t believe it, I was in shock. I couldn’t believe that someone would take a little girls custom wheelchair,” says Fair.
London police say a local man was arrested Wednesday morning in connection with a separate robbery in the 1200 block of Oxford Street East.
‘We can say we have arrested someone in relation with an unrelated matter and he was in possession with a wheelchair at the time,” says Const. Sandasha Bough with London Police Service.
According to police the 29-year-old suspect entered a grocery story on Oxford Street East with the pink wheelchair.
Police allege that the suspect concealed a number of items, paying for only one. When confronted by an employee a physical altercation took place and the suspect produced a knife and what appeared to be a pipe.
The employee was struck and a woman was hit with the wheelchair as the suspect left. Depsite the altercation no injuries were reported.
Police say they located the suspect with the wheelchair and other stolen items in his possession along with several large knives.
As part of the investigation the girl's pink wheelchair was found in his possession and returned to its owners.
The suspect has been charged with armed robbery, possession of stolen property, breach of probation and assault with a weapon.
Unfortunately, the wheelchair has been significantly damaged. “It’s broken…I can’t use it,’ says Aaliyah.
"It’s really disheartening, it affects her entire life. Without the wheelchair we can’t do anything,” says sister Haley Fair.
The family has begun a search for a temporary wheelchair as they try to raise funds to purchase a new one. In just under five hours, the goal has already been surpassed.
Fair says the family is very grateful to everyone who shared their story and for the offers of help.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.