Brampton man charged as search for missing wife resumes
2011/08/19 | Marcia Chen, CityNews.ca staff
Homicide detectives continued their search for a 42-year-old Brampton woman Friday morning, as a judge ordered her estranged husband to remain in custody.
Macdermid Ermacora, 43, has been charged with kidnapping, forcible confinement and assault in connection with the alleged abduction of Raquel Junio.
At the bail hearing in a Brampton court, Crown lawyer Steve Sherriff appealed to Ermacora to “come to his senses” and reveal Junio’s whereabouts. He called the case “most serious” and said he would seek a life sentence.
He will be back in court next Wednesday.
Police said Ermacora was checked into hospital on Thursday for a personal condition. Those who know him told CityNews he has suffered from mental illness in the past.
"He's very tired and everything happened so quickly. He is not guilty. It's an allegation," said Ermacora’s lawyer, Calvin Barry. "We have to see where it goes, it's very early in the investigation."
The search for Junio will include the Brampton area and Nottawasaga, northwest of Toronto, where Ermacora’s family reportedly has property.
Witnesses told police they saw Ermacora force Junio into a black pickup truck outside a home near Steeles Avenue East and Torbram Road before heading north early Thursday morning.
Officers arrested him near Queen Street East and Rutherford Road more than six hours later and found the vehicle nearby.
They are asking anyone who might have seen the truck between 1:30 a.m. and 7 a.m. Thursday to call them. Peel police released a video of the truck on Friday afternoon.
Junio is Filipina, five-feet-two-inches tall, weighs 120 pounds and has shoulder-length black hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information should call Peel Regional Police at (905) 453-2121, ext. 2133 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/news/local/article/149282--brampton-man-charged-as-search-for-missing-wife-resumes
Calvin Barry is a Toronto-based criminal lawyer with over 16 years experience as a senior crown attorney at Calvin Barry Professional Corporation - Criminal Lawyers. Calvin Barry Lawyer Toronto has practiced in the area of Criminal Law and Regulatory Offenses since October of 2004, accruing over 30 years experience in criminal law.
