Man arrested after car chase gets bail

One of two young men arrested last week following a wild police chase through west-end Halifax was granted bail Monday on firearm-related and other charges.

Cameron Mombourquette, 23, was released with the Crown's consent after agreeing to deposit $2,500 cash bail with Halifax provincial court and observe a 10 p.m.-6 a.m. curfew.

Judge Elizabeth Buckle ordered the Halifax man to remain in Nova Scotia, turn his passport in to the court within 24 hours and report by phone to the RCMP every Friday.

Mombourquette also is not allowed to have any contact with his co-accused, Dawid Denisow, and is prohibited from having weapons and possessing or consuming drugs.

Members of the RCMP'S federal serious organized crime section and emergency response team tried to stop a car in the area of Highway 102 and Dunbrack Street in Halifax on the afternoon of Dec. 9.

The vehicle fled and was pursued by police for about two minutes before it was forced off the road on Elliott Street and the two occupants were arrested.

Multiple unmarked police vehicles followed the car over grass and sidewalks, across several lanes of traffic on Joseph Howe Drive and down a steep embankment onto Elliott Street.

RCMP said a loaded handgun thrown out of the car during the pursuit was recovered by police. Officers seized a significant quantity of drugs, believed to be cocaine, from the vehicle.

Police then searched a residence on Willett Street in Halifax and located another weapon with ammunition.

Police initially said it was an AR-15 assault rifle but the charges have been amended to say it was a Just Right Carbines 40-calibre, semiautomatic rifle.

Mombourquette and Denisow, 24, of Halifax, are jointly charged with nine offences in relation to the handgun, which is identified in court documents as a Luger 9-mm semi-automatic handgun. Mombourquette is also charged with dangerous driving and fleeing from police in a vehicle, while Denisow faces seven firearm-related charges in connection with the rifle.

RCMP say the traffic stop was part of a federal investigation into organized crime and drug trafficking. Police searched 13 residences in Halifax Regional Municipality on Dec. 9 and Dec. 10.

The Crown was opposed to Denisow's release Monday. He will appear in court again Thursday for a bail hearing.

According to court records, Denisow's criminal record includes convictions for firearm and drug offences, and for breaching court orders.

This is the first time Mombourquette has been charged by police. He will return to court Feb. 3.