Two men are facing dozens of charges after a Winnipeg police cruiser was stolen and taken for a joyride up the Trans-Canada Highway early Thursday as part of an earlier incident.
Officers originally located a stolen Jeep in the area of McGregor Street and Jarvis Avenue, but it took off westward and eventually ended up at the Flying J gas bar in Headingley following the deployment of a stop stick.
Two suspects got out of the Jeep and tried to carjack three people in a vehicle from Quebec. Police say one of the suspects approached the car with a metal bar and both of them then dragged the occupants out.
One of the victims tried to retrieve property from the vehicle, but was dragged approximately six metres, causing significant injuries. He remains in hospital.
The vehicle fled on Portage Avenue, but was stopped after being rammed by a police SUV. The two suspects fled on foot, but one of them was apprehended. The other man was able to get into a Winnipeg police cruiser car, which was driven into an officer trying to stop it. The officer didn’t require hospitalization.
The stolen police cruiser reached speeds upwards of 200 km/h and was driven towards Portage la Prairie. RCMP were able to stop the car at a Shell station gas bar just east of Portage.
The suspect fled and tried to carjack another vehicle from a woman, but RCMP intervened and arrested him.
Terry Johnathon Dutko of Winnipeg, 20, has been charged with more than 50 offences, including unrelated crimes dating back to February.
Melville Edwin Sanford, 37, also from Winnipeg, faces charges of robbery, aggravated assault and possession of property obtained by crime offences.
Both men remain in custody.
