Police have announced two murder charges for a Collingwood man in connection with the shootings at a residence on Matthew Way yesterday.
According to a news release by the Collingwood and The Blue Mountains OPP, Cameron Gardiner, a 57-year-old from Collingwood has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder.
The victims have not been identified by police. The news release said police were waiting for positive identification and next of kin notification.
However, the Montreal Gazette reported one of the victims is Dean Copkov, 52. The information came out because Copkov was due in court today in Montreal for a sentencing hearing on drug smuggling charges when defence lawyer Catherine Ranalli announced he had been killed on Tuesday in Collingwood.
A Facebook post by Brandone Lee Smith, a Toronto man who formerly attended Collingwood Collegiate Institute according to his Facebook profile, the other victim was Donavan Anthony. Anthony's profile lists him as living in Wasaga Beach but from Toronto. Anthony's full name, as reported by the OPP on Jan. 25 is Donovan Bass.
Police said the "altercation" that left the two dead occurred shortly after 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 22.
"It is believed a third person, who fled the scene, accompanied the two deceased individuals to this location," said the news release. The third person has not been identified by police.
Police were had cordoned off a section of the Eight Building (801 to 810 Matthew Way) on Tuesday morning. A resident of the building recalled hearing three loud bangs in the early morning followed by screaming and breaking glass.
Gardiner is currently held for bail with a scheduled court date of Jan. 29, 2019 at the Ontario Court of Justice in Barrie.
The investigation remains ongoing with the assistance of the OPP Central Region Crime Unit as well as the OPP Forensic Identification Services (FIS) under the direction of Detective Inspector Paula Milne of the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch.
If you have any information that can help police identify this third person or any information in relation to this incident, you are asked to contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122. If you wish to remain anonymous you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS). You can submit your information online or if you have any information on this crime or any other crime.
