Accused in police chase has record of vehicle theft

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This article was published 03/04/2023 (1288 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A woman accused in a police chase of a stolen vehicle March 31 was recently convicted of stealing a taxi cab after brandishing a knife at its driver.

The 36-year-old was arrested Friday night, along with another woman and a teen accused in the incident.

The woman was charged with four counts of assaulting a peace officer, flight while pursued by a peace officer, dangerous driving, and motor vehicle theft, Winnipeg police said Sunday.

At about 8:25 p.m., police on patrol near River Avenue and Osborne Street spotted a sedan missing its back licence plate that looked like a vehicle reported stolen from Marion Street mid-month.

Police said the vehicle then fled the area. A bystander told officers the sedan had driven the wrong way down Stradbook Avenue; police caught up to it on Wellington Crescent.

On Academy Road, the stolen vehicle rammed a cruiser and sped off, nearly hitting an officer on foot, police said.

Following a pursuit through Assiniboine Park, Tuxedo and South Tuxedo areas, and the assistance of the Winnipeg Police Service helicopter, officers on the ground deflated the sedan’s tires, police said.

In a parking lot in the Tuxedo industrial area, the sedan rammed two police vehicles, police said. At about 8:54 p.m., near Sterling Lyon Parkway and Kenaston Boulevard, the vehicle came to a stop. Officers arrested three people.

The 36-year-old was also arrested on an active warrant for an alleged robbery, charge of mischief, weapon possession and release order breach.

In May 2021, she pleaded guilty in provincial court to an assault with a weapon, motor vehicle theft, two counts of mischief under $5,000 and one count of possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose, in two separate incidents dating to 2020.

Crown prosecutor Jeff Nichols told court the first incident occurred on the afternoon of May 20, 2020, when a Unicity cab driver picked up the woman on Main Street in front of the Northern Hotel.

As they drove, the passenger opened a can of beer in the back seat, which led the driver to stop the car.

She threw the can of beer at the driver as he tried to get her out of the cab. They got into a tussle outside the vehicle.

The woman was carrying walking cane with a 30-centimetre knife concealed in its handle, court heard. The woman started to stab at the vehicle’s tires and then stole the cab.

She was released on those matters. She was again arrested after a fight on Main Street in which she wielded a hatchet July 2, 2020.

Judge Sandra Chapman sentenced the woman to time served, along with unsupervised probation, and a 10-year weapons ban.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca