It all began with a complaint which identified the suspect, his vehicle, and the fact that he was believed to be under the influence of drugs, and behaving aggressively.
Around 3:50 pm on July 12th, police spotted the suspect vehicle travelling on the Trans Canada Highway near Aspen Road and attempted to intercept it, however the vehicle fled. Officers chose not to pursue based on a thorough risk assessment of traffic volume and patterns at the time.
Later the same day, at around 6:00 pm, police received a complaint that a man driving a similar vehicle had pointed a shotgun at at another motorist during a ‘road rage’ incident. Police responded and located the vehicle in the area of Leigh Road and Goldstream Avenue in Langford. Officers once again attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver continued on, reaching speeds up to 140 km/h while travelling on the Trans Canada Highway.
The man surrendered to police without further incident a short time later, when he found himself stuck in traffic on the Island Highway near Wale Road in Colwood. A shotgun was recovered from the vehicle along with a large knife.
Police later learned that the suspect vehicle was alleged to have backed up into another occupied vehicle, multiple times, at the intersection of Jacklin Road and Jenkins Avenue just before 6:00 pm. The suspect is alleged to have intentionally backed into another vehicle, causing the driver to suffer whiplash. The victim sought medical attention later at the hospital, and was released.
“It’s a great relief to have arrested this guy,” said Const. Alex Berube. “Obviously he was causing quite a scene throughout the day, causing injuries to one of the drivers and putting other people’s safety at risk.”
The man, who is well known to police, is facing multiple firearms, driving, breach, drug and other Criminal Code related charges. He has been held in police custody, and is scheduled to appear later today in West Communities Provincial Court.
