A young man accused of firing shots at the United States Consulate in Toronto will remain on bail with strict conditions, an Ontario judge has ruled, after the Crown sought to have the decision reversed.
Nineteen-year-old Zara Jabbi is one of two men accused of shooting at the consulate in March as part of an alleged gun-for-hire network operating in Toronto.
Jabbi was arrested in June, a week after Toronto police executed early-morning search warrants across the city in an operation that saw 43-year-old Const. Marc Pinizzotto fatally shot.
Those warrants were part of a complicated, months-long investigation into the shots fired at the U.S. Consulate, which police linked to a “criminals for hire” network and prosecutors in the U.S. have suggested relates to the Iranian regime.
Officers with Toronto police and the RCMP had executed the warrants, looking to seize weapons and make arrests related to the consulate shooting and other similar incidents at synagogues and businesses.
During the raids, Pinizzotto was shot and killed, while another 19-year-old suspect was also shot. The suspect was later charged with first-degree murder.
In the aftermath, police revealed that while they had made arrests and seized firearms, 19-year-old Jabbi had evaded them.
He was arrested around a week later and charged with six offences. After a bail hearing on July 7, Jabbi was released on house arrest bail with GPS monitoring.
The reasons Jabbi was released on bail cannot be reported due to a court-imposed publication ban.
Earlier this week, the Crown argued in front of a Superior Court judge that he should not have been released.
The request was dismissed on Thursday morning, meaning Jabbi will remain out on bail.
The reasons for dismissing the appeal are also covered by a publication ban.
— with files from Global News’ Catherine McDonald