The man who last week carried out a knife attack on a train near Eglinton station had an extensive criminal record and was out on bail. On the same day of the attack, he was supposed to appear in court but failed to show up.
Moses Lewin, the accused attacker, was supposed to appear in court in Milton, Ontario, to face another set of charges, according to court staff, but he never showed up, leading the court to issue a warrant for his arrest.
Months earlier, Lewin was supposed to be in court in Toronto for other charges, including the illegal possession of an eight-inch fishing knife, but he did not appear, according to court documents. It is unclear why the Toronto court released Lewin in the first place: he had another outstanding bench warrant after failing to appear for more charges in Newmarket, as shown in the records.
In April 2022, he was charged in Newmarket with motor vehicle theft, possession of burglary tools, and possession of 10 license plates.
He was then released on $500 bail but failed to attend his next appearance, leading the court to issue a warrant for his arrest on April 26, 2022.
In June 2022, he was charged in Milton with break and enter, motor vehicle theft, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, flight from a peace officer, and breach of a release order.
However, the Milton court released him again on a $200 surety, with no mention in the documents of the outstanding warrant.
Then, in November, Lewin was charged with damaging windows of a business in downtown Scarborough, being at large on a release order, possession of burglary tools, and carrying a weapon: an 8-inch fishing knife.
He failed to attend court for his scheduled appearance on January 11, according to the documents. And back in Milton, court staff said another bench warrant was issued on July 6.
Now, there are questions about whether the authorities could have done more to keep Moses Lewin in custody before the attack on Line 1 of the TTC on July 6.
The incident was captured on video, showing Lewin arguing with another man and then chasing and stabbing him with a knife as passengers flee the armed man.
The victim survived. Lewin was arrested on Friday and charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, and assault with a weapon. The question remains as to why, with such a history of law violations, outstanding warrants, and failure to appear in court, he was still out on the streets.