
Winnipeg police used Air 1 to track a suspicious vehicle that had become stuck near Whittier Park on March 7.
Officers noticed the white Toyota Corolla just before 4 a.m. when it became lodged in snow just east of the park’s baseball diamond.
The driver was able to free the vehicle and took off towards Powers Street. That’s when police on the ground were able to run the licence plate and determine the vehicle was stolen from the Tyndall Park area a week earlier.
A stop stick was deployed near Main Street and Higgins Avenue, slowly deflating the vehicle’s tires. The driver refused to stop and sped up until he tried to enter a back lane near Cumberland Avenue and Kennedy Street, but became stuck again. The man refused to exit, so police dragged him out through the driver’s side window.
Police searched the vehicle and found an 18-inch machete, break-in tools, a .270 Winchester ammunition cartridge and a small amount of methamphetamine.
Joseph Peter Hunter, 19, has been charged with numerous offences and remains in custody.
Officers discovered that Hunt was also allegedly involved in a home invasion approximately 12 hours earlier in the Spence area. Two victims were injured by a machete in the incident.