Chronic offender arrested over stranger assault in Downtown Vancouver
A day after he was charged with assault with a weapon in connection with a violent attack on stranger, Mohammed Majidpour was arrested by Vancouver police and taken to jail.
A woman who was once stalked by the chronic offender hopes this time, Majidpour stays in custody.
Jamie Coutts recorded the 35-year-old following her through the streets of downtown Vancouver in March 2021.
“I went to step off the path to let him walk by, and he stopped as well. I said, 'You’re walking too close to me,' and he just stared at me weird,” said Coutts, who began recording the encounter hoping it would deter Majidpour, but it didn't.
That video went viral, and Majidpour was charged with harassing Coutts. But after pleading guilty to several unrelated charges, he was given a year of probation and the charge related to the stalking was stayed.
According to court documents, Majidpour violated his probation several times before allegedly attacking a 19-year-old female student with a pole in downtown Vancouver on Sept. 27. He also is alleged to have shouted racial slurs.
Coutts says considering his long record, Majidpour should never have been on the street in the first place.
“I think punishments need to be stronger, because people are being let free on the streets every single day, and it’s going to keep happening,” said Coutts.
She says a friend discovered a Vancouver woman being assaulted in the lobby of her apartment building on Sunday. The suspect was charged with assault, and immediately released by the courts.
“I’m shocked. It needs to be taken more seriously, because at this point it’s not,” said Coutts.
Former West Vancouver police chief Kash Heed agrees. “When you look at the court system that’s responsible for dealing with it and ensuring there’s a deterrent, it’s not there,“ said Heed.
The former solicitor general says prolific offenders don’t fear arrest because they’re rarely held in custody, and that needs to change.
“You cannot let these predators out there in society. Either institutionalize them or lock them up. You’re going to have to incapacitate these people for a period of time,” said Heed, adding “That’s a sad state we are in right now, but it’s a true state, and it’s the only way we are going to be able to protect society at this point.”
Coutts wants Majidpour to be kept behind bars for the latest assault with a weapon charge.
“I’m hoping they take it a little bit more seriously,” she said. “There is a long history of charges with that man.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Angst and calls for resting places as Surrey, B.C., pet cemetery development continues
A single headstone is all that remains of dozens of markers for long-buried pets in a subdivision in Surrey’s Newton neighbourhood, where a half-acre parcel bears a large sign announcing the proposed construction of new homes.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.