A 19-year-old woman who sparked outrage after she was allegedly filmed tossing a chair from a downtown Toronto highrise balcony was released on bail Wednesday afternoon. Marcella Zoia, of Toronto, turned herself into Toronto police at 52 Division around 7 a.m. Wednesday morning and was charged with mischief endangering life, mischief involving damage to property and common nuisance.The short video allegedly showing Zoia tossing a balcony chair off an upper-floor balcony toward the Gardiner Expressway hundreds of feet below sparked outrage after it was widely viewed on social media Sunday.Zoia was released on $2,000 bail after appearing in College Park court Wednesday afternoon. Appearing outside court, she told reporters she would allow her lawyer, Greg Leslie, to speak for her. He said his client tossed the chair due to “peer pressure,” calling it a momentary lapse of judgment. Then Zoia walked across the street to a nearby Starbucks as dozens of TV cameras and photographers looked on. As she left the cafe to get into a waiting car, a passerby stopped to take her picture.Her bail conditions also state she’s to have no contact with four “involved” parties and should not attend two addresses associated with Maple Leaf Square Condos on Bremner Blvd., near York St. and Lake Shore Blvd. W., nor possess any prohibited weapons.Toronto criminal defence lawyer Daniel Brown, who is not involved in the case, said the most serious charge Zoia is facing — mischief endangering life — could, if she’s convicted, lead to anything from no criminal record to life in jail. He cautioned a more serious sentence would only be likely in a case involving factors such as a prior criminal record, alcohol or drugs and a large number of lives endangered.“What kind of opens the door for a potential jail sentence is whether or not that chair actually landed on a major roadway or thoroughfare and whether or not it endangered the lives of o ...
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