A Halifax man is facing multiple charges after allegedly leading police on a high-speed chase — hitting two cruisers and a third vehicle along the way.
Police now say Jason Patrick MacKenzie, 35, turned himself in to Halifax Regional Police on Monday and remains in custody.
The chain of events began on the evening of Aug. 3, when Halifax Regional Police first tried to stop a Volkswagen Tiguan on Nantucket Avenue in Dartmouth.
According to police, the driver did not stop and drove through a red light at the intersection of Victoria Road and Thistle Street — hitting another vehicle in the process.
“The vehicle did not stop at the scene of the collision and fled the area. The officers stopped the pursuit to provide assistance to the occupants of the struck vehicle who were not injured,” police noted in a news release.
An hour and a half later at 8 p.m., Halifax District RCMP found the vehicle in their jurisdiction and tried to stop it in Lower Sackville. RCMP say they pursued the suspect vehicle into the Churchill Downs area, where “two police cars and private property were damaged by the vehicle being pursued.”
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The chase was called off, after the Tiguan sped onto Hwy 101 towards Windsor, N.S.
“During the pursuit, the driver of the vehicle had thrown items out of his vehicle onto Hwy. 101. After the pursuit had ended, police located the items which were determined to be suspected cocaine, drug paraphernalia and pills,” police note.
Two days later on Aug. 5, RCMP recovered the Tiguan in the Gypsum Mines area in West Hants. The vehicle was towed to RCMP headquarters, and police found what’s believed to be cocaine and pills while executing a search warrant.
Police were able to obtain an arrest warrant for MacKenzie, who they describe as the driver of the vehicle, and charged him with:
- two counts of assaulting a peace officer with a weapon
- flight from police
- dangerous operation of a conveyance
- possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking
According to police, MacKenzie turned himself in on Aug. 9, and appeared in court, where he was further charged with:
- failure to stop after an accident
- three counts of failure to comply with conditions
MacKenzie remains in custody and is scheduled to be back in court on Aug. 17.
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