A month-long police investigation has led to nearly two dozen criminal charges against a Downtown Eastside man who allegedly fired BB rounds at buses traveling along East Hastings Street last winter, smashing windows, placing passengers in danger, and causing worry throughout the community.
William Tallio, 43, is now wanted Canada-wide for 11 counts of mischief and 11 counts of possession of a weapon related to offences that occurred between January 19 and January 29.
“This was a difficult investigation, given the number of buses that were targeted and because none of the crimes were immediately reported,” says VPD Sergeant Steve Addison. “Investigators worked backwards to pinpoint the exact location where the crimes occurred, to identify the suspect, and to gather evidence linking the suspect to the crimes.”
Vancouver Police and Metro Vancouver Transit Police launched a joint investigation after windows on 26 transit buses were broken by projectiles while the buses traveled through the Downtown Eastside between January 17 and January 31. Though each bus had passengers on board, no victims ever came forward and there were no reported injuries. In most cases the damage wasn’t noticed by the bus drivers until after they had finished their shifts.
Working together, investigators from VPD and Metro Vancouver Transit Police were able to narrow down the location of the offences to a small area on East Hastings Street, between Columbia and Carrall streets. Officers in the Downtown Eastside gathered additional evidence and identified a suspect, who was charged on August 29 by BC Prosecution Service.
“Transit Police is pleased to have resolved this threat to public safety on transit through collaboration with our jurisdictional policing partners,” says Constable Amanda Steed, Metro Vancouver Transit Police. “We are dedicated to ensuring that everyone feels safe on transit in Metro Vancouver.”
