If the allegations are true, then the parents of brothers Alexander and Anthony La must be bursting with pride.
Could it be that buttons are flying like little plastic bullets for the boys?
Amazingly, the two Hamilton brothers are charged with two different murders, totally independent of one another.
One slaying went down in 2021, the other in June. Together, the La boys are in a world of hurt, making it possible there will be empty seats at the Thanksgiving dinner table for the foreseeable future if the allegations are true.
Cops had been looking for Alexander, 23, since May. If allegations against him are true, then he is a rock star in Steeltown’s criminal milieu.
On June 15, Randy Peardon, 37, was allegedly shot and killed after trying to get rid of Alexander, an unwanted guest at an east-end apartment. Peardon was a straight arrow, a father of three who was uninvolved in crime or drugs.
At the time, Alexander had been wanted by cops for allegedly being involved in a wild downtown shootout on May 13, which thankfully did not cause any injuries, and an assault on May 30. Police said Peardon’s relatives had merely wanted Alexander to leave.
Police said he had been on the lam for the shootout and the May 30 incident. That time, officers responded to several 911 calls about two armed men trying to break into a Hunter St. W. apartment.
A woman in the building’s hallway was covered with blood and screaming. She had been pistol-whipped, while a woman in her 70s suffered minor injuries when she attempted to intervene. Her phone was also stolen.
Alexander is charged with robbery with a firearm, assault with a weapon and forcible confinement, among other offences, in connection with that incident. He was charged with eight offences, including reckless discharge of a firearm and discharging a firearm with intent, in connection with the May 13 shooting.
After the senseless Peardon murder, Alexander allegedly went on the run outside of the Hammer. Cutting his distinct hair and donning glasses, cops said he holed up in a Niagara Falls motel.
Two weeks later, they caught up with him, but he was not charged with the Peardon murder until last Friday.
And, ta da! He was on probation at the time of his latest alleged offences. In July 2022, he was hammered with a slew of charges in connection with a shooting on Hess St. N. According to the Hamilton Spectator, 17 of the 19 charges were dropped.
He was ultimately convicted of possession of a stolen Jeep Compass and breaching probation.
Little brother Anthony — 18 at the time — allegedly stepped up to the big leagues first.
On Aug. 6, 2021, Keden Bond, 17, was targeted for death, according to cops. Bond was gunned down in a Stoney Creek parking lot, while two other kids were injured.
In October, cops announced they had arrested six in connection to the Bond killing and the Sept. 14 targeted slaying of Sabir Omer, 19, in the parking lot of a Tim Hortons. I was there in the minutes preceding Omer getting hit in the brazen daytime gambit.
The chessboard looked hinky, so I split. Cops believe the two murders are linked.
“There are a lot of young people who have been arrested,” Det.-Insp. Jim Callander told reporters at the time. “They all appear to have known each other in some fashion.”
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Anthony and five other suspects were arrested and hit with 93 charges. He is charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of Bond.
None of the charges against either La brother have been proven in court.
But two different brothers being charged with two different murders? This is rare.
But in the same way hockey has the Sutters, the Hulls and the Richards and baseball had Phil and Joe Niekro, Hamilton homicide detectives believe they have something else.
They have the La brothers.
X: @HunterTOSun