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Foiled kidnapping standoff ends quietly

WHITBY, Ontario, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- A man suspected of abducting a lawyer surrendered peacefully to police east of Toronto Wednesday after a standoff that lasted more than 24 hours.

At 5 a.m., the man surrendered to Durham Regional Police in Whitby, 38 miles east of Toronto, CTV News reported.

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He had been holed up in an auto repair shop in an industrial complex since late Monday night after a lawyer for the city of Oshawa, adjacent to Whitby, was kidnapped at gunpoint in his driveway.

Police tracked the kidnap vehicle by the victim's cellphone signal. A brief chase to the industrial area ensued and the victim was released, the Toronto Star said.

While police didn't immediately identify the suspect, various acquaintances and former co-workers said he was former Oshawa City Councilor Robert Lutczyk, the reports said.

Lutczyk lost his council seat in the 2010 election.

He is involved in a lawsuit with the city of Oshawa in which he alleges the city is unlawfully using his intellectual property, CTV said.

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