What Was Suspect In Wild Chase Doing Out Of Jail?
There are still a lot of questions to be answered about what happened during a police chase that saw an officer get dragged for 25 metres, a car clipped and a family of four somehow escaping serious injury when the pursuit ended at Islington and The Queensway.
But the most pressing query may be this: what was the suspect in this case doing out of jail and in a car in the first place? Police have charged 52-year-old Edward Skotnicki with 13 offences, including criminal negligence causing bodily harm and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle after a wild ride that started at Bloor and Prince Edward Dr. with a routine traffic stop.
It ended a long way away, when - after a scary drive along the Gardiner - the wanted car "rocketed up over the grass and just clipped the end of the guardrail," according to Sgt. Paul Lobsinger. When the engine in the truck cops were pursuing simply stopped working, they arrested Skotnicki, a Toronto resident of no fixed address, and took him away for questioning. But if the cops on the scene weren't familiar with the suspect, other law officials certainly were.
The accused has a staggering 158 previous criminal convictions - most for assault and theft. But eight were for dangerous operation of a motor vehicle. Even more shocking, he'd been banned from driving for life at least four previous times. He also was the subject of a Canada-wide warrant when he was finally hauled down on Thursday.
The licence plates of the car he was allegedly driving don't match the registration and cops believe it may have been stolen. The suspect was back in a place he's familiar with on Friday - a courtroom on Finch Ave. West.
Skotnicki knows he's in trouble again and this time, he's not even trying to make bail. "He's given up his right to a bail hearing," explains his representative Brenda Lawson. "He didn't feel that he would be released if he did have a bail hearing, so rather than waste the court's time, he just consented to a detention."
The accused has not had an easy life. His last known address is The Salvation Army. Which begs the original question: how could this man be out and allegedly driving a car on city streets? "Any time that we're involved in arresting the same person over and over and over, that's a concern to the police," agrees Lobsinger. "That a person can have lifetime prohibitions and go undetected until they commit another offence."
He complains current laws just don't have enough teeth to put a real bite on those stuck in an ever lengthening spiral of crime. "If there's no chance of getting caught, what's to stop me from doing that behaviour?" he asks.
Authorities say it's a miracle no one was seriously hurt in the carnage. The cop who was dragged emerged with just a sore shoulder. And while the wanted vehicle collided with a van carrying two adults and two children - which flipped over onto its roof - all those inside emerged with only minor complaints.
List of charges
1. Criminal Negligence Causing Bodily Harm
2. Dangerous Operation of a Motor Vehicle Causing Bodily Harm
3. Dangerous Operation of a Motor Vehicle
4. Assault with a Weapon
5. Fail to Stop for Police (Flight)
6. Fail to Stop After Accident
7. Fail to Stop for Police (Flight)
8. Fail to Stop After Accident
9. Assault with a Weapon
10. Possession of Property obtained by Crime Over $5000 (truck)
11. Possession of Property obtained by Crime Under $5000 (licence plates)
12. Drive While Disqualified
13. Assault with a Weapon
Source: Toronto Police
No comments:
Post a Comment