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Getaway driver pleads to manslaughter. Co-conspirator tripped while setting Scarborough restaurant ablaze, died in fire

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Cite

Gallant, J. (2026, September 25). Getaway driver pleads to manslaughter. Co-conspirator tripped while setting Scarborough restaurant ablaze, died in fire. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/getaway-driver-pleads-to-manslaughter-co-conspirator-tripped-while-setting-scarborough-restaurant-ablaze-died-in-fire/article_43855eb4-b7a2-41ed-80f0-27455ff05a32.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Toronto Star · collected 2026-09-25 · by Jacques Gallant

Quick Summary

Shiloh Norton, 24, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and arson charges after serving as the getaway driver in an incident where O’Brien Todd died while setting fire to a Scarborough restaurant on June 22, 2024. Surveillance footage showed Todd and another youth entering the Molon Lave Taverna and pouring gasoline inside, leading to an explosion; Todd tripped inside and died from smoke inhalation, while the other youth escaped. Norton violated his driving prohibition and curfew by transporting the conspirators in a stolen vehicle. The case is part of a series of restaurant arsons in Scarborough at that time.
Written by AI on 2026-09-27, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On June 22, 2024, Shiloh Norton pleaded guilty to manslaughter and arson charges in a Toronto courtroom. The incident involved setting fire to the Molon Lave Taverna restaurant in Scarborough around 1:30 AM. Along with O'Brien Todd and a 16-year-old boy, Norton had driven there in a stolen Acura RDX. Todd and the youth used gasoline from the car’s trunk to start the fire inside the restaurant, which caused an explosion upon entry. Todd tripped on his way out and died due to smoke inhalation during the blaze. Surveillance footage showed Todd breaking into the restaurant by smashing its door panel. Norton was under a driving prohibition and curfew order at the time of the incident. The teen accomplice faces sentencing in October 2024, with his identity protected by youth justice laws. This arson is part of a series of such incidents targeting restaurants in Scarborough’s Kennedy Road and Lawrence Avenue East area.

Written for “Arson Manslaughter Plea” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Arson Manslaughter Plea
Crime & Law · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 6% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Toronto man pleads guilty to manslaughter after fellow arsonist accidentally dies in fire Same event
Global News
Hedges 1 of 32 claims Outlet record 63/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-27 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Who wrote this

Jacques Gallant
10 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 In a statement recognizing that the case is “very sad, tragic, and incomprehensible,” the defence said they will decide soon whether to appeal.
2026-10-24 · assertive framing · Babysitter gets life sentence for toddler's 'inexplicably savage' murder inside Toronto CAS bathroom
🔮 He could not speak and required round-the-clock care, including a breathing tube.
2026-10-21 · assertive framing · Toronto man pleads guilty to manslaughter. Victim died 11 months after Parkdale rooming house beating
🔮 Hamblett may be the person who has spent the most time in psychiatric seclusion in any Ontario hospital.
2026-10-17 · assertive framing · What's it really like for patients 'trapped' in seclusion? 'I feel sometimes I'm losing my soul'
🔮 “I lost my brother, but I also lost the opportunity to see the life he was supposed to have, the things he would have accomplished, and the person he would have become.
2026-10-16 · assertive framing · Family of YMCA instructor slain in North York shooting speaks at sentencing hearing: 'So much ambition, so many dreams, so much hope'
🔮 The outcome means that Avalos’s trial for second-degree murder, which was set to begin Monday, has now been scrapped.
2026-10-15 · assertive framing · He fled Toronto for El Salvador after killing his wife and evaded capture for 20 years. Now he faces her family in court
🔮 “I wish I could tell you how proud I am of you and how sorry I am that I couldn’t be there to protect you,” Belotte said, addressing his late son as he read his victim impact statement that had the packed courtroom sobbing.
2026-10-10 · assertive framing · Words from father of murdered three-year-old leave courtroom sobbing: 'To my beautiful son in heaven'
🔮 According to the agreed statement of facts, the youth removed three jerrycans of gasoline from the car’s trunk, while Todd smashed the glass panel of the restaurant’s door so they could gain entry.
2026-09-25 · assertive framing · Getaway driver pleads to manslaughter. Co-conspirator tripped while setting Scarborough restaurant ablaze, died in fire
🔮 He said the panel was “indebted” to corrections expert Andrea Monteiro, who prepared an independent assessment of Azevedo’s case; without her thorough work, it would have been “extremely difficult” for the board to provide proper oversight of Azevedo’s seclusion experience due to what Siebenmorgen described as incomplete and inaccurate information compiled by Waypoint.
2026-09-24 · assertive framing · Ontario hospital ordered to follow own policies. Waypoint routinely broke internal rules for long-term patient isolation
🔮 While judges can ask clarification questions, they can never take on the role of cross-examiner, as it would risk undermining their job as a neutral decision-maker.
2026-09-22 · assertive framing · Judges' grilling of accused men leads to sex assault and dangerous driving cases being overturned
🔮 Ontario’s patient ombudsman says stories of people being held in isolation for years at the province’s only maximum-security psychiatric hospital are “deeply troubling,” as his office considers what actions it may take.
2026-09-22 · assertive framing · Stories of patient isolation at this Ontario hospital ’deeply troubling,' ombudsman says. Warnings about 'unethical' use of seclusion go back more than 40 years
Also by Jacques Gallant
Babysitter gets life sentence for toddler's 'inexplicably savage' murder inside Toronto CAS bathroom
2026-10-24 · Toronto Star
Toronto man pleads guilty to manslaughter. Victim died 11 months after Parkdale rooming house beating
2026-10-21 · Toronto Star
What's it really like for patients 'trapped' in seclusion? 'I feel sometimes I'm losing my soul'
2026-10-17 · Toronto Star
Family of YMCA instructor slain in North York shooting speaks at sentencing hearing: 'So much ambition, so many dreams, so much hope'
2026-10-16 · Toronto Star
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 10 articles by Jacques Gallant →

Topics

Crown Scarborough the Youth Criminal Justice Act

Subjects

Todd PERSON · 6× Norton PERSON · 3× Crown ORG · 1× Melissa Mandel PERSON · 1× O’Brien Todd PERSON · 1× Scarborough GPE · 1× Shiloh Norton PERSON · 1×

Narrative

At the time, Norton was subject to a driving prohibition and was bound by a release order that he abide by an 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, as well as a probation order that he not possess car keys unless he had the owner’s permission.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-27
🔮 According to the agreed statement of facts, the youth removed three jerrycans of gasoline from the car’s trunk, while Todd smashed the glass panel of the restaurant’s door so they could gain entry.
2026-09-27 · Toronto Star
Getaway driver pleads to manslaughter. Co-conspirator tripped while setting Scarborough restaurant ablaze, died in fire · assertive framing

Claims (17 extracted, 1 hedged)

In the middle of the night, O’Brien Todd and two co-conspirators set out to break into a Scarborough restaurant and burn it down. asserted
Todd → set → it
But after pouring gasoline on a stove, causing an explosion, the 26-year-old Todd tripped on his way to the front door, and ultimately died of smoke inhalation. asserted
Todd → pour → inhalation
On Friday, the getaway driver, 24-year-old Shiloh Norton, pleaded guilty in a virtually empty courtroom to manslaughter and arson charges, as Crown attorney Melissa Mandel read an agreed statement of facts into the record. asserted
Mandel → plead → record
Norton, Todd and a 16-year-old boy who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act arrived at the Molon Lave Taverna just after 1:30 a.m. on June 22, 2024, in a stolen car. asserted
who → identify → car
Parking lot surveillance footage played in court shows Todd and the youth entering the restaurant, after which a loud explosion can be heard, and smoke fills the screen. asserted
smoke → play → screen
According to the agreed statement of facts, the youth removed three jerrycans of gasoline from the car’s trunk, while Todd smashed the glass panel of the restaurant’s door so they could gain entry. uncertain
they → accord → entry
That triggered an alert notifying the security company. asserted
That → trigger → company
Once inside, the pair poured gasoline all over the restaurant, which is also captured on surveillance footage, but was not played in court. asserted
which → pour → court
After setting the fire in the kitchen, “Todd attempts to run to the front door but falls inside,” says the agreed statement of facts. asserted
statement → set → facts
The youth is also “temporarily trapped,” but is eventually able to crawl through the broken glass panel as the establishment burns asserted
establishment → trap → panel
“Todd does not make it out of the restaurant,” says the statement. asserted
statement → make → restaurant
The youth gets back into the stolen car, and Norton drives off. asserted
Norton → get → car
At the time, Norton was subject to a driving prohibition and was bound by a release order that he abide by an 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, as well as a probation order that he not possess car keys unless he had the owner’s permission. asserted
he → bind → permission
The charges that led to those orders were not specified in court. asserted
that → lead → court
No indication of a motive for the arson was provided. asserted
indication → provide → arson
The case returns in November to confirm a sentencing hearing date. asserted
case → return → date
The youth was found guilty of similar charges following a trial and faces a sentencing hearing next month. asserted
youth → find → hearing
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