Man charged after allegedly shooting 24-year-old at highway motel near East Gwillimbury

Andrew Joseph Pitre is pictured in this image distributed by York Regional Police. (Handout /YRP)

A man is facing charges after allegedly shooting a 24-year-old at a highway motel near East Gwillimbury on New Year’s Day.

It happened in the area of Highway 11 and Canal Road at around 9:45 p.m. on Jan. 1.

When police arrived on scene, officers said they found a man with gunshot wounds. He was taken to a local trauma centre with non-life-threatening injuries and has since been released.

Police said, at the time, the suspect was nowhere to be found.

Police conducted a search warrant inside a motel room associated to the suspect where they said they seized large quantity of cannabis and other drugs.

On Jan. 3, police issued an arrest warrant for Andrew Joseph Pitre, 33, and about a week-and-a-half later they found him in a parking lot somewhere in Georgina, Ont.

Pitre is facing nearly a dozen charges, including attempted murder, aggravated assault and failure to attend court. The charges have not been tested in court.

Police said Pitre was wanted on a bench warrant at the time of their investigation after failing to attend court for previous, unrelated charges.

Investigators are asking anyone with information to contact them or Crime Stoppers anonymously.