June 17, 2020
On June 14, 2020 just before 2:00 p.m. a patrol officer witnessed a vehicle travelling at a high rate of speed in the 3800 block of Carey Road in Saanich. Once the officer stopped the vehicle, the driver got out of his car and began questioning the reason for the stop. Upon being told that he was being stopped for speeding the driver then ran. The officer followed and was able to watch as he ran down into a nearby dead-end stairwell. Once other officers arrived to help out, they were able to talk to and convince the male to walk up the stairs, where police took him into custody without incident.
The driver was in breach of a court release order, did not possess a driver’s licence and the vehicle had been reported stolen to the West Shore RCMP approximately 20 minutes prior out in Colwood.
In addition to charges for the possession of stolen property and breach of release order, the 30-year-old driver is also facing a charge for obstructing a police officer and will appear in court later this year.
“We do recover several stolen vehicles each year however not usually within 30 minutes of it being reported stolen. The vehicle was returned to the registered owner the same day.”
Cst. Markus Anastasiades
Public Information and Communications Officer