Durham carjacking, home invasion end in helicopter chase and arrest

Durham Regional Police say a carjacking in Bowmanville escalated into a home invasion before a dramatic arrest involving a police helicopter in Toronto.

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Durham Regional Police say a carjacking in Bowmanville escalated into a home invasion before a dramatic arrest involving a police helicopter in Toronto. Muhammad Rahman, 21, faces numerous criminal charges related to the incident.

In a media release, Durham police say the incident began around 9:15 p.m. on September 10, when officers from East Division responded to reports of a home invasion near Maple Grove Road and Nash Road.

Investigators allege a suspect confronted a woman in her garage, threatened her with a knife, and demanded her vehicle.

The suspect chased her around the garage until she dropped her keys and ran inside, screaming for help.

Police say her husband came to her aid and was also pursued.

The couple managed to close the interior door to their home as the suspect tried to force his way inside.

Police say the man then fled in the stolen vehicle, while a second suspect drove off in a getaway car that had been following the victims.

A Durham police helicopter tracked both vehicles heading west on Highway 401 before they stopped in a North York parking lot near McNicoll Avenue and Mogul Drive.

Officers say the getaway driver switched into the stolen car, but both men were quickly boxed in and arrested by members of the force’s Project Attire Auto Theft Unit.

No physical injuries were reported.

Rahman now faces a litany of charges, including robbery with an offensive weapon, theft of a motor vehicle, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, break and enter, disguise with intent, and dangerous operation of a conveyance.

In what is becoming an increasingly common trend in Canadian crime, a minor—a 16-year-old boy from Toronto, who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act—is facing similar charges alongside Rahman.

Police released a video of the arrest, noting the voice heard in the footage belongs to a Peel Regional Police officer in training with the Joint Air Support Unit.