A suspected Colwood car thief was stopped only 30 minutes after stealing the vehicle.
Around 2 p.m. on June 14, a Saanich patrol officer saw a driver speeding a car down the 3800-block of Carey Road. When the officer stopped the car, the driver got out and “began questioning the reason for the stop.”
When the officer told the driver he had been stopped for speeding, the driver took off running, eventually heading into a nearby dead-end stairwell.
Other officers arrived and convinced the man to walk up the stairs, where he was taken into custody without incident.
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Police learned that not only was the driver in breach of a court release order and without a driver’s license, the car he was driving had been reported stolen out of Colwood only 20 minutes prior.
“We do recover several stolen vehicles each year however not usually within 30 minutes of it being reported stolen,” says Const. Markus Anastasiades. “The vehicle was returned to the registered owner the same day.”
The 30-year-old driver faces charges for possession of stolen property, breach of release order and obstructing a police officer. He will appear in court later this year.