Wanted offender unlawfully at large for 9 years captured by ROPE Squad

It took nine years to find Gurfathe Kooner.

“I was very pleased to get him into custody,” said Det. Staff Sgt. Steve Sermet of the provincial Repeat Offender Parole Enforcement (ROPE) Squad.

Kooner was picked up at his parents’ home in Tecumseh Tuesday morning.

“We had a warrant to search the residence,” Sermet said. “Did a door knock, kind of a call out and then basically Mr. Kooner was located in the basement.”

With help from the OPP's Tactical Rescue Unit, Emergency Response Unit, Canine and Windsor Police, Kooner was captured up without incident. He missed his sentencing in April of 2015 and had been on the run ever since.

Kooner was sentenced to three years and a day for a laundry list of charges including fail to attend court. He now faces an additional unlawful at large charge.

“Historically from my experience, depending on the judge, he could be given another three months to six months,” pointed out Sermet, who says it is unknown whether Kooner was in Essex-County for the entire nine years because there is no evidence he ever left.

“Certainly nervy to be that close to where you're wanted on some fairly serious warrants,” said CTV safety analyst Chris Lewis.

Sermet says the ROPE squad receives about a thousand cases a year.

“When it falls on our desk we never stop looking for them.”

Lewis, who is a former OPP Commissioner, says there isn’t enough time in a day or enough officers to track down everyone. “That's just the reality of policing.”

He says Kooner's case is serious but wouldn't be high on the priority list.

“They have to focus on the ones that are really the bigger threat to public safety or rely on a tip and if a tip comes in they're gonna throw everything they can at it to try and get someone off the street and move on to other files. Great work that they found him and got him off the streets.”

Kooner was sentenced to three years and one day for:

• Possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition
• Possession of a firearm knowing its possession is unauthorized
• Unauthorized possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle
• Possession of a firearm knowing it is tampered with
• Possession of a firearm or ammunition contrary to a prohibition order
• Unauthorized possession of a prohibited device or ammunition.
• Fraud Over X4
• Breach of recognizance X2
• Utter death threat
• Fail to attend court

The offender failed to appear for his sentence in Windsor and his whereabouts became unknown. He is facing and additional charge of unlawfully at large.