WARMINGTON: Meet the GTA’s newest superhero – Broom Man

This vigilante justice warrior didn't hesitate to clean house when bandits targetted his Markham jewelry store

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Published Jan 10, 2025  •  4 minute read

Jerry Sorani, the owner of Jewellery Forever who scared off would-be thieves with a broomstick last fall, is seen here at his store in CF Markville shopping mall in Markham on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. Photo by Ernest Doroszuk /Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network

When it comes to justice, it seems Jerry Sorani believes in the no Karat, all stick approach.

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And some criminals somewhere have the bruises to prove it.

The Markham jeweler said no to the crooks getting the 18-karat gold rings they wanted, but they did get introduced to something he had behind the counter to sweep up at the end of each day.

No long pointy-hat or cape for this superhero – just a broomstick. And he gave these sluggos a clean-up they won’t soon forget.

Move over Batman, just call this vigilante justice warrior Broom Man.

“I guess I am getting stuck with that nickname now,” joked Sorani, the hero of CF Markville shopping mall.

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The owner Jewellery Forever for 16 years saw his story go viral this week after he used a broom stick to thwart off three young male smash-and-grab robbers inside of his store within the mall at Hwy. 7 E. and McCowan Rd.

But it turns out this case goes back to Oct. 3, 2024 – just before the December wild story of a group of smash-and-grab bandits targetting the Lukfook jewelry store in the same mall.

In that case, some of the bad guys got caught, but some got away with some goods.

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At Sorani’s store, they may have scurried away, but they got away with nothing – except for one culprit who cut his hand trying to break a glass display case.

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“I just reacted,” Sorani said Friday of his decision to employ some self-defence. “When they came in with their masks and bags, I just tried to stop them from stealing everything.”

The video shows him swinging a broomstick around and two of the three criminals taking off while the third hung around longer for a beating. There was no time for a call to police or to mall security. He just did what he had to do.

“It all happened in about 17 seconds,” Sorani said. “They took off quickly.”

Jerry Sorani, the owner of Jewellery Forever in CF Markville shopping mall in Markham, scared off would-be thieves with a broomstick on Oct. 3, 2024. Photo by Jerry Sorani, the owner of Jewellery Forever in CF Markville shopping mall in Markham, scared off would-be thieves with a broomstick on Oct. 3, 2024. /Supplied

York Regional Police officers arrived swiftly but the culprits were gone.

“The police told me it’s always good to not interfere,” Sorani said. “They asked me, ‘Don’t I have insurance?’ I said I did but that was not the point. My reaction was to try to stop them before they took anything.”

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And it worked.

Meanwhile, police call this “an active investigation” and tell the Toronto Sun there have been no arrests.

“As with any incident in which there is a potential for violence, we remind everyone to prioritize their personal safety,” police advised. “It is difficult to predict the intentions of a criminal but, in most cases, a person who commits a robbery wants to get whatever items they are after and leave without getting caught.”

Const. James Dickson added, “Consider that if you resist or struggle, you may cause the offender to escalate their level of physical force to accomplish what they intend to do.”

Jerry Sorani, the owner of Jewellery Forever in CF Markville shopping mall in Markham, scared off would-be thieves with a broomstick on Oct. 3, 2024. Photo by Screengrab /Supplied

Everybody realizes he means well by saying that and the police have to say that. And it’s good advice for most to follow. But Sorani is not most people.

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“Maybe it’s my Kurdish upbringing,” he said. “I was born in the north of Iraq and that’s how things were. I am a proud Canadian for many decades and my 15-year-old son is a hockey player. I think he and my whole family is proud of what I did.”

The public certainly is proud.

They don’t want to be told by police to just leave their car keys near the door to their so carjackers can find them easier, nor do they want to stand back and let the criminals take your livelihood to enrich their themselves.

People are tired of the bad guys winning.

Tejeshwar Kalia, a student from India who faces aggravated assault charges after defending himself from a bat wielding robber when he worked as a clerk at a Circle K convenience store on Jan. 5, is seen here in Peterborough, Ont., on Thursday April 4, 2024. Photo by Ernest Doroszuk /Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network

With the courts releasing just about everybody the police catch, many are frustrated the system doesn’t take serous crime seriously. And it’s only logical that people will start taking matters into their own hands at some point.

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In Sorani’s case, it was a broomstick in his hands. But for Tejeshwar Kalia’s case in Peterborough, it was a baseball bat that he was hit with first.

And the Indian International student is still before the courts despite being the victim.

But members of the public know who the real criminals are. And it’s not the hardworking, sitting ducks in their stores being violently victimized by repeat offenders high on drugs who know police advise law-abiding people not to interfere or put up a fight.

Circle K clerk Tejeshwar Kalia, 22, and an unidentified customer are seen in security video wrestling a baseball bat away from Jonathan Handel after the 37-year-old attampted a violent robbery of the store in Peterborough on Jan. 5, 2024. Photo by Supplied /screengrab from security video)

That way is not working. Sorani and Tejeshwar’s way did work. They stopped the criminals.

“These robberies keep happening because they know nothing will happen to them,” Sorani said.

It won’t be long before there will be calls for people to be armed to protect themselves if the police and courts are not going to do it. And it won’t be with broomsticks.

Sorani has no regrets and said he would do exactly the same thing again.

“Absolutely,” he said. “You can’t just sit there and let them take everything. They are not afraid of the system because they know even if they are caught, they will be out of jail the next day to do the same thing.”

Probably best for bandits to steer clear of his store because, even though his old broomstick was thrown in the garbage, Sorani said he now has “a new one.”

And, as previously demonstrated, he knows how to use it.

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