A Windsor man was sentenced to 600 days in jail on Thursday for his role in a string of car thefts that fed an international crime ring. Superior Court Justice Bruce Thomas told Johnny Chan, 27, that he has a chance to put his criminal past in the “rearview mirror,” but warned that a return to crime would lead to a “revolving door of the jail.”
Chan pleaded guilty to four criminal counts, including two counts of theft of a motor vehicle and one count of trafficking of stolen property. He admitted to stealing 10 high-end vehicles in the Windsor area between 2022 and 2023, acting under the direction of senior members of an auto theft group.
The thefts were part of Project Fairfield, a joint investigation by the Windsor Police Service and the Ontario Provincial Police that dismantled a multi-million-dollar auto theft ring operating in Windsor and across Ontario. The operation led to the arrest of 23 individuals in July 2023 and the seizure of 138 stolen vehicles, $170,000 in currency, and more than $500,000 in illicit drugs.
Assistant Crown Attorney Iain Skelton described the operation as an “ongoing course of behaviour” involving coordinated efforts by multiple parties. “It was a multi-step conspiracy, which included the targeted thefts of high-end motor vehicles, the re-VINing of said vehicles, the fraudulent registration of the vehicles, the resale of some of the motor vehicles, and the export of others for international sale,” Skelton said.
The thefts caused significant losses to victims and increased insurance premiums for the community. Chan’s lawyer, Domenic Panetta, argued that his client was not the “mastermind” but followed orders due to addiction and personal tragedy. Chan’s addiction to alcohol and Percocet began after the loss of his mother in 2020 and the loss of their family home, impairing his judgment.
Chan’s sentence includes time served, and he was given credit for pre-sentence custody. The judge emphasized that Chan’s cooperation and guilty plea were factors in the sentence, but warned against future criminal activity.
