Overview
- Derek McCormick pleaded guilty to breach of trust and one count of theft under $5,000, and the Crown and defence jointly proposed a 10-month conditional sentence that would include five months of house arrest.
- Court documents say the theft involved a cellphone turned in at 52 Division that McCormick took for another officer, and four remaining charges against him will be withdrawn.
- Prosecutors told the court McCormick had a painkiller addiction and bought Percocet from Const. Timothy Barnhardt, who is separately charged and described by police as a central figure in the probe.
- Project South began after York Regional Police stopped an alleged plot to kill a corrections manager in June 2025 and has since led to charges for seven current or retired Toronto officers and many civilian suspects across the GTA.
- The Crown is using direct indictments for several officers to skip preliminary hearings and send cases to Superior Court, and the next appearances for other charged officers are scheduled there this week as trials and accountability processes move forward.