Mississauga man involved in fatal brawl
A Mississauga man who helps promote pornographic websites was involved in a bizarre brawl in Toronto last week that ended in a fatal stabbing.
Four panhandlers - two women and two men in their early 20s - have been charged with aggravated assault in connection with the death of St. Catharines resident Ross Hammond.
According to The Globe and Mail, Hammond, 32, was walking along a Toronto street with his friend, Mississauga’s George Dranichak, when a fight broke out.
Police believe last week’s altercation began when one of the panhandlers slammed into Dranichak with her bike. Hammond was stabbed eight times in the fight that followed.
The police report does not say specifically who stabbed Hammond.
Meanwhile, The Globe and Mail says Dranichak works for Guerilla Traffic, a company that markets adult websites.
“I’m working very closely with the police and I'm not really allowed to talk about the case in any way,” the Mississauga man told The Globe and Mail. “I lost a very, very close friend and I need time to mourn. I can’t give out anything else. There’s an ongoing investigation and I’m a part of it. I’m sorry, that’s all I can say.”
Meanwhile, The Globe and Mail is reporting that one of the women charged is a young California woman with a police record.
One of the accused, 22-year-old Sarah McDermit, is actually named Faith Watts.
Watts owns a lengthy criminal record that includes convictions for drug possession, theft and fighting with a police officer.
Police here allege it was Watts who slammed her bike into the Mississauga man, sparking the fatal brawl.
The two men charged in the case appear in court today.