BURST
All four suspects have been convicted in a terrifying 2023 home invasion in which a family was taken from their home, driven outside the city and held hostage for some time.
Vancouver Police said Thursday that Sijuola Obatusa, 23, was found guilty on April 2 following a trial in Supreme Court. Obatusa is the last of the four suspects to be convicted, while the other three had entered guilty pleas.
Duoth Techen Garkouth, 21, and Ramadhan Ibrahim-Hussein, also 21, both entered guilty pleas to kidnapping and break-and-enter. The pair were 19 at the time of the home invasion.
Another suspect, a teen who was 17 at the time, had earlier entered a guilty plea to the lesser offences of being unlawfully in a dwelling house and forcible confinement. That teen was sentenced in 2024 in youth court and has already completed his sentence.
The convictions come following a year-long police investigation that spanned seven crime scenes, resulting in the identification of the four suspects.
Three of the four suspects were arrested and charges recommended in April 2024 , a year following the initial kidnapping. The fourth suspect was charged later.
“The judge’s decision validates the long hours that our investigators spent collecting evidence to hold these suspects accountable,” said Const. Darren Wong.
“More importantly, it brings a sense of justice to the victims who were hurt.”
Obatusa, Garkouth, and Ibrahim-Hussein remain in custody while waiting for their May 6 sentencing hearing.