Three face charges in car thefts after driver hits officer

A 21-year-old Montreal resident has been named in an arrest warrant as the suspect who allegedly struck a police officer with a car a month ago.

Sunny Authier is accused of assaulting a peace officer with a weapon, theft of a vehicle, possession of property obtained by crime and dangerous driving.

Montreal police said officers responding to a call about a stolen vehicle noticed “four suspect vehicles” at Stanley and Sherbrooke Sts. around 2 p.m. on April 7.

“One of the officers approached one of the cars, a black BMW sedan, in order to talk to the driver,” police said. “Rather than obeying the police officer's orders, the suspect hit him with the vehicle while fleeing. He then got on the sidewalk and drove in the opposite direction northbound to escape the officers. The suspects in the three other vehicles also sped away from the scene, performing several other dangerous manoeuvres” on the busy downtown streets.

An 18-year-old man was arrested on the same day at a residence downtown. Tools commonly used to steal vehicles were found there. He was released.

Jordan St-pierre, 18, of Granby; Noemy Boucher, 20, of Montréal-est; and Honoris Joseph, 25, of Montreal, also face multiple charges including possession of stolen property (St-pierre and Boucher); possession of break-in instruments (St-pierre); car theft (Joseph); dangerous driving (Joseph); and possession of a forged document (Boucher). Joseph is detained pending a bail hearing.

Authier is still wanted and he has an extensive criminal record.