In a scene straight from a movie script, Stratford police say they arrested two men after one pretended to be the other’s lawyer while he was skipping his court appearance on Tuesday.
Police say that 38-year-old David Crowe of West Vancouver, was scheduled to appear in court on charges of criminal harassment, harassing telephone calls and breach probation.
They say that a man who pretended to be his lawyer appeared in the court.
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The Stratford court could not recognize the man who was using an alias as counsel and then issued a warrant for Crowe for failure to attend court.
Police say they followed the man as he left the court when he climbed into a vehicle where another man was waiting inside.
They eventually pulled the car over just outside of Stratford on Highway 8 when Crowe climbed out of the car.
Officers spoke with the man who allegedly continued to use aliases outside of the one he used earlier in the courtroom.
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Police arrested the pair and while taking the pair into the police station, officers began to suspect the man was impaired.
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At police headquarters, he was arrested for operation while impaired by a drug.
Police allege tests subsequently showed he was impaired by a stimulant and narcotic analgesic.
They were then able to confirm the man’s true identity using the police database.
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Police searched the vehicle and say they found over five grams of methamphetamine and one gram of fentanyl, false identification and an illegal flick knife.
According to police, Justin Zamperin, 36, of Toronto, had a number of outstanding warrants from Toronto and Niagara Falls. Police say he was also breaching a number of release conditions.
Zamperin is facing more than 20 charges including operation while impaired by a drug, possession of an illegal substance, identity theft, personation, possessing credit card data, possession of identity document, unauthorized possession of a weapon, obstruct justice, and breach of recognizance.
Crowe was also breaching a number of release conditions including that he stay away from Zamperin, according to police.
Police say Crowe was charged with multiple offences including possession of an illegal substance, possessing credit card data, identity theft, breach of probation and breach of recognizance.
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