Toronto cops nab Johnson (Updated)

Frederick Craig Johnson, who had been employed by the Volunteer Centre of the Blue Sky Region, has been caught by the Metropolitan Toronto Police Service.

"We were looking for him here and we found him," said Det. Russ Fairey, of the service's hold-up squad.

Johnson, who skipped out of North Bay after allegedly renting a car using a stolen credit card, was arrested last night by Toronto police.

The convicted bank robber had been on parole while working in North Bay. He had been convicted for 10 robberies in Toronto and Hamilton, and was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant after leaving North Bay.

Obviously disappointed
Ironically one of the projects he'd been in charge of while here involved allowing youths in conflict with the law to participate in volunteer activities.

A public alert had been issued by the North Bay Police Service when Johnson's disappearance had been discovered.

He now faces eight charges of bank robbery, one of break and enter and one of possession under $5,000.

"We're obviously disappointed Craig has re-offended but it doesn't surprise us," said John Wilson, vice-chairman of the volunteer centre board of directors.

"But it doesn't change our feeling that volunteerism is still one of the best ways for people who have been offenders to reintegrate themselves into the community."

Addiction took him back
Johnson had admitted to the volunteer centre he'd been a cocaine addict, said executive director Kirsten Schmidt-Chamberlain.

"It's very unfortunate the addiction took him back to this, but the volunteer centre is still very pleased with the work that he did on the project he had set up."

Fairey said there have been 27 bank robberies in Toronto to date this year, and police believe Johnson was responsible for seven of them since he arrived in the city Jan. 26. The eighth robbery Johnson has been charged with took place outside Toronto in Peel Region, Fairey said.

No weapons were found on Johnson's person, Fairey said.

"He was in one of our local hotels of ill repute and when the officers went to the door he jumped out the second story window," Fairey said.

"A foot chase ensued and he was apprehended," Fairey said.

Johnson was not injured from the jump.

"We have a lot of snow in Toronto," Fairey said.

All the charges were laid in Toronto, he added.

Toronto police did recover the vehicle rented in North Bay, Fairey said.


Moot point
Johnson's modus operandi in the past has been to enter a bank and advise tellers he had a weapon, North Bay Police Service deputy chief Paul Cook said at a news conference last month.

Johnson will be in Toronto court this morning for a bail hearing.

"That's a moot point, though, because of the warrant out for breaching his parole, and I don't think he's going to get bail with his past," Fairey said.

"And I suspect Mr. Johnson will be going back to jail for a fairly lengthy time."

He also faces North Bay charges, one charge of theft over $5,000 and two counts of fraudulent use of a credit card.

But Fairey said it will be "a while" before Johnson returns to North Bay for those charges.

Det. Dan Webber, of the North Bay service, agrees.

"There's so much stacked against him there I'd be surprised if he ever comes back here to face what are, by comparison, relatively minor charges," Webber said.

"Certainly it's a plus to get him off the streets when his way of committing robberies leads to us believe he's capable of lots of different things."

To see a photo of someone who could be Johnson click here.