NORTH HURON — A pickup truck and an all-terrain vehicle have been returned to their owners and plenty of charges have been laid after a suspect crashed into a farm implement while fleeing from cops in the stolen truck.
Huron County OPP officers spotted the truck with an ATV in the rear cargo box during the early morning hours of Sept. 25. The driver refused to stop and drove off dangerously. Soon afterward, an officer saw the suspect vehicle turning into a Westfield Road farm property. Again, the driver attempted to get away but got bogged down in the mud after hitting the implement.
Officers approached the vehicle and arrested both the driver and passenger without incident.
The pickup truck turned out to have been stolen from a property in Huron East a few days earlier, while the ATV was more recently taken from a neighbouring property, according to Huron County OPP.
The driver, Jean-Philippe Gnemmi of Huron East, 34, is charged with: two counts of Possession of Property Obtained by Crime Over $5,000; Flight from Peace Officer; Mischief Under $5,000; Operation while Prohibited; two counts of failing to Comply with Probation Order; and fail to Comply with Release Order.
He was remanded into custody with a court appearance scheduled for Oct. 5.
His passenger, Stratford resident Ashley Sousa, 30, is charged with: two counts of Possession of Property Obtained by Crime Over $5,000; and being the Occupant of a Motor Vehicle Taken Without Consent.
She has a first court appearance scheduled Oct. 25 in Goderich.