Police pursuit over the weekend in Magog

It was a busy weekend for the Régie de Police Memphrémagog (RMP). On Sunday, July 4 when patrol officers arrested three individuals trying to obtain refunds for items in the Rona home improvement store on Centre Street in Magog. The merchant noticed the abnormal transactions and immediately notified the RPM officers.

The three individuals were taken into custody and their two vehicles were seized as offence-related property.

Two of the individuals related to the intervention appeared in court in the afternoon for breaches of conditions prohibiting them from being together for similar offences.

On Monday morning, one of the three individuals was released from the RPM police station pending charges, but within minutes of his release, the 35-year-old showed up at the Ultramar gas station at 2380 Principale West to steal the vehicle of a customer whose car was at the gas pumps.

Noticing the key was still in the vehicle, the individual boarded the vehicle and fled the scene in front of four customers who immediately alerted the owner inside the convenience store. As he drove away, the suspect backed into a truck that was parked in the yard and then the citizens intervened, attempting to stop the fugitive, but he ran into the customers and even ran over the foot of one of them.

The citizens did everything they could to break the window and stop the thief, but without success.

A 911 call was immediately placed and RPM police officers notified their colleagues from surrounding police forces while heading down Highway 10 to try to locate the stolen vehicle.

Two RPM patrol officers chased the fugitive as far as kilometre 85 in the direction of Montréal. At the Bromont exit police officers of the SM Bromont were waiting for him. The two police services pursued the fugitive on Chemin Saxby.

At the Dennison intersection he lost control of the stolen vehicle, ran a traffic light and ended up in the ditch of a nearby lot.

Officers quickly arrested him, but since the suspect was injured he was transported to the CHUS for evaluation. The subject has a lengthy criminal history including two pending charges for hit and run as well as theft and is under a driving driving ban.

The individual will appear at the Sherbrooke Court House on a number of charges including (at the discretion of the crown prosecutor) grand theft auto, hit and run accident, police pursuit, dangerous driving and driving while prohibited.