Calgary mover charged with uttering death threats against clients in Ontario
Police say mover demanded more money after truck broke down twice en route to Kingston, Ont.
A Calgary mover has been charged with two counts of uttering death threats after his clients refused to pony up more money for repairs to his truck while en route to Ontario.
The ordeal began March 20 when the victims hired the 45-year-old Calgary man to move their belongings on a trailer to Kingston, which is about 260 kilometres east of Toronto.
"There had been some discussions originally, they felt he might have it slightly overloaded, but he didn't believe that was the case," said Const. Cam Mack of the Kingston Police.
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"While en route, he ended up with a breakdown. There was a tire issue believed to be due to the weight. He contacted them, there was some discussion, he got it repaired and moving again and there was a second breakdown with the same sort of issue."
It was at that point the man contacted his clients once again, demanding they transfer him more money for the extra costs.
"The complainants felt it was necessary to get their property before they sent him any more money, so they offered the idea that once he did deliver the property they would look at somehow covering the extra costs. But he wasn't having any of that, he wanted to be paid right away."
The two sides continued to talk, and once the mover arrived in Kingston, he "threatened to find them and kill them," police said in a release.
"It was over the phone," said Mack. "They contacted police because they took the threat seriously and were concerned for their safety … and an officer called the accused and attempted to speak with him about the issue and he wasn't having any of that, either. He wouldn't speak to the officer and hung up a couple of times."
The man was arrested Tuesday in the town of Prescott, Ont., east of Kingston.
No names have been released.
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