Lottery winner picks up cheque, spends night in jail
Updated: Wed Jul. 22 2009 6:39:14 AM
The Canadian Press
TORONTO ? There was no five-star exotic holiday for this lottery winner - instead, Barry Shell of Brampton, Ontario spent his first night after picking up his jackpot winnings in police custody.
Shell went to pick up his nearly $4.4 million cheque at the Ontario Lottery and Gaming headquarters in downtown Toronto on Monday.
But after he posed for an OLG photo holding his cheque, he was arrested outside the building on outstanding criminal charges and taken into police custody.
Shell appeared in a Brampton courtroom Tuesday on charges of failing to appear, theft under $5,000 and possession of property obtained by crime.
Shell was wanted on an arrest warrant after he didn't show up for a 2003 court date.
OLG official Rui Brum says any time a jackpot is claimed, there's a rigorous investigation process that follows and any red flags that are raised are passed along to the Ontario Provincial Police.
Updated: Wed Jul. 22 2009 6:39:14 AM
The Canadian Press
TORONTO ? There was no five-star exotic holiday for this lottery winner - instead, Barry Shell of Brampton, Ontario spent his first night after picking up his jackpot winnings in police custody.
Shell went to pick up his nearly $4.4 million cheque at the Ontario Lottery and Gaming headquarters in downtown Toronto on Monday.
But after he posed for an OLG photo holding his cheque, he was arrested outside the building on outstanding criminal charges and taken into police custody.
Shell appeared in a Brampton courtroom Tuesday on charges of failing to appear, theft under $5,000 and possession of property obtained by crime.
Shell was wanted on an arrest warrant after he didn't show up for a 2003 court date.
OLG official Rui Brum says any time a jackpot is claimed, there's a rigorous investigation process that follows and any red flags that are raised are passed along to the Ontario Provincial Police.
